There's Always Another
by Luster127
Summary: Konata isn't the only odd-mannered, openly perverted Otaku around, which a childhood friend of hers clearly proves. But, fitting in with a close-knit group of teenage girls doesn't even sound easy, and it may prove impossible to gain full acceptance...
1. Chapter 1

First off, let me just say - I blame Nuke for this. See, we're close friends and all, and I had been toying around with the idea for a fic in my head. One day we started talking and somehow stumbled upon the topic of fics... And, well, I told him I'd get to work on one if he started...

And, it seems this is where that ingenius plan got us. Thanks for ruining my attempt to blame my laziness on you, Nuke, thank you oh-so-much...

Anyway, seeing as I have 4 chapters done at the moment, I can say that I'm overall pleased with the work I have done so far. However, the first two chapters are definately subpar in terms of what I believe I can churn out, while 3 and on are much better... Mainly due the the fact that I finally broke into my writing abilities after those chapters. And I'm too lazy to rewrite the first two... And they're needed so people understand 3 ...

And... And... Yeah. So... Yeah. By the way, I wont be one of those review-lusters who say "I WONT UPDATE UNTIL I GET [X REVIEWS!!"... That's not to say I wont love reviews, though.

Time to shut up and start? I think so...

----------------------------------------------------

"Why does the phone always ring when I'm in the middle of something?" Konata sighed, slowly making her way through her house, searching out the cordless phone. Once she found it, she answered the incoming call, "Ohayo."

"Ohayo, Konata." Came the somewhat cheery reply, "It's me, Kagami."

_Why do people always tell you who they are on the phone? Don't they think you can tell?_ Konata thought to herself, once again amused at her random observations, "Ah, Kagamin. Calling to tell me the answers for my homework?"

"Why can't you just do the work for on- Nevermind..." Kagami replied, sighing. After a moment, she continued, "I'm just calling to make sure you didn't forget that we're all coming over today, that's all."

"Yes, I remember. My father wont be home, but he wont mind." Konata replied, "So, you're going to show up at the same time as always, right?"

"Well, Tsukasa has something else to do, but I'll be able to get there at the usual time." Kagami answered a moment later, "Miyuki lives farther away, so she'll probably show up later."

"Okay then. Don't forget to bring your homework for me, Kagami." Konata said, with a nod, although Kagami obviously couldn't see it, "And remember to walk here, you need to lose the weight."

Konata waited a moment, then smiled triumphantly as she heard the dial tone, informing her that Kagami had hung up. Pleased with herself, she hung up the phone and went back to her room.

_Hm... I could have sworn there was something I should remember... Oh well. _

-----

Konata sat at her computer, the chair turned to face the television as she played Kagami in Guilty Gear. Between rounds, she would turn her attention back to the computer, which gave Kagami a second or two of free hits before Konata realized the match had started.

_She's barely even trying, but it feels good to be so close to beating Konata for once..._

"Ooh, Kagamin has been practicing." Konata complimented, "You've actually gotten me to a final round."

Kagami didn't reply, as she was more focused on the game than she would have liked the admit - Being so close to victory for the first time was an opportunity she didn't intend to pass up, even though a loss meant nothing to Konata. It was obvious that Konata's mind wasn't entirely on the game, since she wasn't reacting as quick as usual, and Kagami had the edge. Just as she was about to deal the finishing blow, the doorbell rang.

"Oh, sorry..." Konata said, pausing the game before she was hit, "Let me get that."

_H-How can you just pause it at such a crucial moment!?_ Kagami thought, hoping Konata didn't come back with the intent to win. She tried not to listen, but Tsukasa wasn't due to show up for another few hours, and Miyuki couldn't have made it over yet, and she was curious. Konata was talking to someone, who didn't sound like a girl or an adult. The door closed, and she heard the two continue to talk as they walked towards the room.

"... Don't worry, I'm just here with a friend. She doesn't bite all that much." Konata said as she entered the room, quickly making her way into the room and picking up her controller and sitting down on the bed.

"Who are you talking to?" Kagami asked, watching Konata as she entered the room. Her question was answered when her guest finally made it to the doorway a moment later. He was the same height as Konata, with a mess of purple hair that had begun to make it's way down the back of his neck, though stopped at the collar of his red cotton coat that reached down to his ankles, with black pants and shirt under the coat. The most striking resemblance was the fact that they both had the same exact lazy-eyed, mischevous, inwardly-drawn expression.

He slowly made his way towards her, picking the controller out of Konata's hands as he passed by her, and sat next to Kagami. Kagami noted the subtle scent of coconuts emanating from his being, though she was knocked out of her thoughts when he turned to her, speaking in a rather slow manner, "You don't mind if I play instead, do you?"

"Huh? Uh, n-no..." Kagami said, turning her attention back to the game, thinking; _If Konata trusted the game to him, he must be pretty good... But I should be able to win in this situation, anyway..._

The moment the game was unpaused, it went downhill for Kagami - Even though she was in the middle of an attack that would have finished him off, while he was in the middle of an attack that wouldn't hit in time, he was able to cancel out of it and use invincibility frames to his advantage to escape her attack. After that, he proceeded to show her what it feels like to have hopes of victory be utterly denied, using attacks and combos that she didn't even know existed. She didn't last more than a minute.

"W-Wow..." Kagami muttered, somewhat pissed that she had her victory robbed from her, "By the way, I'm Kagami. And you are...?"

"I'm Kale." Came the reply, "Another game?"

"No thanks..." Kagami answered, feeling thoroughly defeated. She then turned to Konata, giving her a curious look, "Oh, Kona-Chan, I didn't know you had other friends. Let alone a boy..."

"I've always known Mijikai-Chan." Kale quickly responded, "Ever since we were babies. Our parents were close friends."

"Yup!" Konata said, spinning in her chair to face them as a battle waged on in her RPG, her finger raised matter-of-factly, "But he moved away the summer before we started High School. In fact, the day that I saw him off at the airport was the very same day I met Tsukasa."

"But, if he moved away... How is he here now?" Kagami asked.

"I moved back." Kale answered, "Right into the same house, across the street from here."

"The same house? Kind of odd that it would be available for you..." Kagami commented.

"Well... We still own it..." Kale said, setting up a match against the A.I., "And, I decided I wanted to live near my Mijikai-chan again."

"... Mijikai-chan? How can you call her that, if you're the same exact height as her?"

"I may not have grown at all in the past three years, but I'm still an inch taller than Mijikai-Chan. Besides, no matter what, even if she one day outgrows me, she'll _always_ be Mijikai-Chan to me."

-----

"Ohayo gozaimasu!" Miyuki said, bowing politely, as she entered the room, Konata right behind her.

"Ohayo, Miyuki-chan." Kagami replied, giving Miyuki a bright smile.

"Oh, who's this?" Miyuki asked, turning to Kale.

Kale, who had already paused his game, turned to face Miyuki and gave her a bright smile, "Oh, hello there. Miyuki-san, was it? Nice to meet you. My name is Kale."

_What a fast change!! He was too lazy to even open his eyes a moment ago!!_ Kagami thought, surprised.

"Oh, ohayo gozaimasu, Kale-san." Miyuki replied with a slight giggle and bright smile, "Are you a friend of Kona-chan?"

"You could say that." Kale said with a slight nod, "Mijikai-chan and I were once inseperable.

_For some reason, he's starting to sound like an ex. Curse you, Konata!_ Kagami thought, obviously irritated, and glad that nobody was paying enough attention to catch her fit. She merely sat there and wallowed in her own fury as Kale and Miyuki continued to speak in a ridiculously formal and irritatingly polite way, while Konata tapped away at her keyboard, oblivious to the world around her.

-----

"Oy, Kagami-chan, wasn't your sister or whoever supposed to be here?" Kale asked as he played Konata in a match in Guilty Gear, both of them furiously mashing away at their controllers while maintaining their usual, sleepy-eyed, near expression-less personas.

"Knowing Tsukasa, she probably got lost on the way here." Konata said, in a smug and matter-of-factly tone, "It must be such a trouble, needing to take care of such a clumsy sister, eh Kagamin?"

"Don't speak as if she's some useless klutz!" Kagami growled in response, but her cellphone rang before she could continue. She sighed in annoyance and answered the call, "Ohayo?"

"O-Ohayo, Onee-Chan..." Came the pathetic sounding response.

"Tsukasa?" Kagami said, a bit surprised, "Where are you?"

"I-I fell asleep on the train, a-and missed the stop..."

"Then get on the incoming train and come back."

"B-But, I forgot my cellphone at home... I had to leave the station to get to a payphone to call you..."

"Why would you do that, don't you know to just switch trains!?"

"I-I was scared, onee-chan!! And now I don't have enough money to get on the train again..."

Kagami sighed, holding her forhead, annoyed and blushing slightly at the fact that Konata was right, "Which stop are you near?"

"T-The last one..."

"Alright, then, I'll come get you. Just stay inside the station, alright?"

"O-Okay... I-I'm sorry, Onee-chan..."

"Don't worry about it, just wait for me." Kagami said, then waited to hear Tsukasa hang up the phone before she hung up, then looked to the group, "I-I gotta go... Tsukasa needs me to get her..."

_Wait! I can't go and get her! I don't have enough on my card! _Kagami thought, now getting worried for her sister, though before she could so much as think, she felt something land in her lap. Looking down, she saw a metro card, "Huh? What's this for?"

"That look you just had was the same look Mijikai-chan always gave me when she didn't have enough money to do something. Take it, I don't mind." Kale replied, "It's not like I need it, anyway. I live right across the street."

_Then why did you even bring it!? _Kagami thought, though she chose to accept it with a nod rather than say anything. She said her thanks quickly as she grabbed her things and made a fast exit.

"... Interesting friends, Mijikai-chan." Kale spoke once Kagami had left, suddenly feeling bored with only Konata, who was absorbed in her own MMO world, and Miyuki, who was lost within one of Konata's non-shonen mangas.


	2. Chapter 2

Oddly, this experienced a lot more popularity than I thought. A single review, but a lot of faves and alerts. I must say, I'm quite surprised, though in a good way. Anyway, as I said, the first chapters are weak and, in my opinion, don't reflect what I'm capable of - That's not to say I feel that I'm some amazing writer or anything, not at all, in fact I feel I'm quite mediocre, I just feel that this isn't an accurate showing of my mediocrity. Either way, of the first two chapters, I utterly despise this one thoroughly, something just feels so... _off. _

Not to mention, you have no idea how long it took me to make the final part of the actual chapter viewable.

As for the very very end of the fic - That's an idea spawned of a conversation between myself and Nuke. I still don't know what we were on at the time, but I rather like it.

Two more notes -

I just now noticed that eats the spaces I put in for speech and paragraphs. That's quite annoying, if I do say so myself, though it doesn't damage the final product in the least so I wont complain...

And, I'll try to update every Monday. At most, I'll be at least 2 to 3 days after Nuke's updates, though I'm the lazy one of the two, so lets see how long that lasts.

So, with that, lets start this (amazingly short)chapter.

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"Come on, Kale, you're gonna make us late!" Konata yelled, pounding on the front door to her friend's house.

"Oy, oy!! Go easy on my door, Mijikai-chan!" Kale called from the other side of the door. A few seconds later the clicking and clacking of locks being undone, then the door slowly creaked open, and Kale poked his head between the doorframe and the door, his hair nothing more than a big, purple mess, "I'm not quite ready yet, Mijikai-chan."

"I would ask what you were doing in there, but knowing you, you were probably asleep..." Konata murmured.

"Hey, hey..." Kale sighed, opening the door completely, revealing that he was dressed in the standard uniform for the males at their school, although his was a bit darker, with his coat draped over his shoulders, "I was just kidding, Mijikai-chan."

"What happened to your uniform?" Konata asked, pointing at the miscolored clothing, "You're just like Kagamin... You mixed up the loads in the wash, didn't you?"

"Welllll... Yeah... Ooops..." Kale groaned, "Quiet... I was half-asleep at the time..."

"You're always half-asleep." Konata teased, tugging on his arm to get him moving, nearly making him forget to close his door.

"Hey, you're exactly the same!!" Kale yelled in response as she dragged him down the street.

----

"There you two are! What took you two so long?!" Kagami growled at Kale and Konata.

"Kale-kun here was running late, so I had to kick his door down and fight him to get ready!" Konata cried out triumphantly, pumping her fists into the air as if she were battling an unseen opponent.

Kale, head hanging lazilly, merely took a few steps towards Tsukasa, lifting his head to acknowledge her presence, "Ohayo... Tsukasa-chan?"

"Oh, ohayo." Tsukasa replied, smiling brightly, "You must be Kale-kun, Kagami did say you were short."

"Ore wa mijikaku nai de gozaru!" Kale growled, looking from Tsukasa to Kagami, then back to Tsukasa, feeling defeated when he noticed her confused expression, "But anyway... Yeah, I'm Kale. Doozo yoroshiku, Tsukasa-chan."

"Pleased to meet you, too, Kale-kun." Tsukasa said, with her usual, somewhat confused smile.

"Can't you do this while walking?!" Kagami yelled, grabbing Kale's arm and rushing ahead as Konata and Tsukasa started to walk faster to keep up.

"Oy, Ka-chan, must you be so rough?!" Kale asked, "I'm getting a bit tired of you women dragging me everywhere."

"If you weren't so slow we wouldn't have to drag you, shorty." Kagami growled in response, dragging him towards the train station.

----

"Oh, yeah..." Kale sighed, tugging his arm free of Kagami's grasp and grabbing her wrist in return, causing her to stop.

"What is it, Kale? You're already making us late!" Kagami asked, then started to blush as she realized that Konata and Tsukasa had already boarded the train, and it had left, "Wha-What do you want?"

"Isn't it obvious?" Kale asked, holding his free hand out to her while locking his eyes with hers.

_What could he want? Does he want to hold my hand? Is that why he pulled me away from the others, so we could be alone? _Kagami thought, her face turning deeper shades of red with each thought, her eyes wandering over Kale slightly,_ But he's Konata's friend, and they were pretty close, too. That would be too complicated!!  
_  
"I-I'm sorry, K-K-Kale." Kagami stammered, tugging her wrist free of his hold, "B-B-B-"

"Aw, come on, Kagami-chaaan..." Kale sighed, "How am I going to get to school without my metro?"

"Y-You're metro?" Kagami asked, realization finally dawning upon her. She hung her head in defeat, sighing softly, "Yeah, I have it..."

_Of course that was it, what else could it have been? _Kagami thought to herself, irritated and flustered by her thoughts as she sifted through her bag, eventually producing the card and handing it to her friend, "Here ya go."

"Took ya long enough, Ka-chaaan." Kale grinned as they swiped themselves in and headed for the stop, "Now, come on, you're holding us up and we're gonna be late!"

"Hey, don't try and blame that on me!!" Kagami yelled, running to catch up with Kale.

----

"Looks like me and Kona-chan are sharing the same class again." Tsukasa said with a smile, as Konata read through the list of classes, obviously searching for something. When her friend didn't reply, she gave her a worried look, "Kona-chan, are you okay?"

"Mmmm... Where's Kale's class?" Konata asked, carefully reading down the list for every class.

"You didn't see? Kale-kun is in the same class as me, you, and Yuki-san." Tsukasa replied.

"What!? Where does it say that?!" Konata cried, trying desperately to find his name.

"Look..." Tsukasa giggled, pointing to the top of the list. At the very top was the name 'Kazehana Kale'.

_Drats! Too high for me to spot! _Konata thought, a bit frustrated with her small stature.

"Ohayo gozaimasu." Miyuki said, walking up to her two friends with her usual bright smile.

"Oh, ohayo!!" Konata replied, "We're in the same class again, it seems."

"Oh, I see." Miyuki responded with a giggle, "Lets have another good year agai-"

"Do you have to keep calling me that!?" Kagami yelled from down the hall, speedily walking away from Kale, her face a bright red.

"But Ka-chaaaaaaaaan..." Kale whimpered, "Why don't you like that name? You're_ my _Ka-chan now!"

"HMPH!" Kagami huffed, turning to face him, planting a fist on her hip and leaning down to get on eye-level with him, her finger wagging in the air condescendingly, her face a bright red from embarrassment, "First of all, it's not a name - It's not even a word! It mans nothing! Second of all, I'm not _YOURS_, so stop saying that! Now cut. It. Out!"

"... Ka-chan is too loud. Look at all the attention she's bringing herself." Kale murmured in a low tone so only she could hear.

"Eh!?" Kagami gasped, looking around and noticing everyone was staring at her. As realization dawned upon her, she started to turn even brighter shades of red, until she merely sighed in defeat and hung her head in shame, "F-Fine... You can call me Ka-chan."

"I dunno... Maybe you're right. After that little outburst, you've kinda ruined the name..." Kale smugly replied, walking past her and continuing on a bit before stopping and turning back to face her, grinning slightly, "... Nope, you're still my Ka-chan."

"You're really getting annoying, you know that?" Kagami huffed, pushing past him as she headed for the others.

"It seems Kagamin has experienced Kale's charm. It'll only be a matter of time now before her weak will cracks and she falls madly in love." Konata said in a sing-songish voice.

"Quiet..." Kagami said with a sigh, turning her attention over to the class assignments. She quickly located her name, as well as the names of her friends, and noticed that she was in a class seperate from Miyuki, Tsukasa, and Konata again. Even Kale shared a class with them, though she did her best to hide her displeasure at that.

"It seems true friendship can't be defeated by classes! Real friends will always be put together!" Konata cried out triumphantly, looking towards Kagami and frowning, "Oh, I'm sorry... What class are you in, again?"

"You know, you really get on my nerves sometimes!" Kagami groaned.

"Class is about to start, isn't it? Come on... Wouldn't be best to keep our teacher waiting..." Kale said, stepping between the two, then sighed, "... On my first day, at least..."

----

"Well, well, looks like you all made it through another year! But, don't think it's over yet, this year isn't gonna be any different!" Kuroi laughed, eyes wandering across the full classroom, "In fact, this year will be a lot more difficult!"

"SENSEI!!" A student called out, raising his hand, "That's not a very good thing to say!!"

"Oh, don't worry, you all should be able to handle it." Kuroi responded, "Anyway, it seems we have a new student. Mind introducing yourself?"

To that, Kale sighed, weakly lifting himself from his desk so he was standing, "Yes, yes..." He spoke softly, stifling a yawn, "My name is Kale Kazehana..."

"You look tired, Kazehana." Kuroi said, watching him carefully.

"Not uncommon. I generally am tired..." Kale responded.

"That's good. I enjoy sleepers." Kuroi spoke in a menacing tone.

"Do I have to call for help, Kuroi-sense?" Kale asked, feeling his legs weakening under his weight.

"Wow, he's short..." A kid nearby whispered to one of their friends, "Do you think Konata's taller than him?"

Surpressing anger at that statement, Kale brought himself to smile, turning to face the one who was whispering, speaking in a proud tone, "Actually, I happen to be one full inch taller than my Mijikai-chan."

"That's good. Any taller, and Konata wouldn't be my favorite student anymore." Kuroi said.

"Again, do I need to call for help?"

"Just shut up and sit down..."

Not one to argue with sitting down, Kale quickly dropped into his seat as Kuroi started her lesson, though he found it quite difficult to stay awake. If he had to do something, such as answer a question, or communicate with someone to get work done, he would have found it easy to stay awake, but silently doing work or listening to a lesson was impossible for him to stay awake to. Before long, he was sitting with his head laying in his arms, sound asleep. And, before long, he was rudely awoken to a powerful whack to the back of his head, causing him to shoot up and look around, rubbing the spot that was hit. Once Kuroi's smug expression came into view, he sighed, mumbling, "I know lawyers, ya know..."

"Heh, try me." Kuroi responded, walking back towards the board.

As she walked away, Konata leaned over to Kale, whispering, "You'd better get used to that, Kale."

"Listen to your friend, Kazehana. Izumi there is a long time victim."

-------------------------------------------

Lucky Channel music plays

Kaito: Lucky Channelru!!

Kaito smiles while holding up his hand in a rock-hand symbol. Next to him is Kale, who has his head laying atop his arms on the desk, sleeping peacefully. Kaito glances at him and sighs, bringing his hand down onto the back of Kale's head.

Kaito: Oi, we're on...

Kale grunts as Kaito's hand meets his head, then slowly lifts his head up to look around. As he slowly comes to, he sits up fully, rubbing the back of his head and yawning.

Kale: ... Oh, crap, this already?

Kaito: Yeah...

Kaito then turns to face the camera/audience, smiling again.

Kaito: Anyway, I'm your host, Yasuhiro Kaito.

Kale: And I'm Kazehana Kale...

Kaito: Now, I bet most of you are wondering... Why we're here.

Kale: ... Why _are_ we here, again?

While speaking, Kale is stretching in an attempt to wake himself up.

Kaito: Well, I need the extra pay...

Kale: Okay... Then why am _I_ here?

Kaito: Because we need someone else, and two comic foils are a great way to get attention...

Kale looks around, appearing to be somewhat irritated. He then turns to face Kaito.

Kale: You know, they never even said what we do here... Only that I was taking that girl's place... Akira? Yeah, they said I was perfect for the job...

Kaito: And they said I'd be good for Shiraishi's place, but he's still here. That's the main change. Due to conflicts with the producers, the duo has been cut off from doing Lucky Channel. But have no fear, Shiraishi fans, his role on the show was recognized and he has been saved.

Kale: And as for Akira...

Kale shrugged, looking less than interested.

Kaito: She's MIA.

Kale: Crazy women...

Kaito: I just hope that all of you will love us like you may have loved them.

Kale: Of course, all the female watchers out there will love me, like Ka-chaaaaan...

Kaito: Indeed. And I wont complaint about any of you loyal fans out there.

Kale: You'll just complain about everything else, eh?

Kaito: Definately. _Someone_ has to do it in an inquisitive manner.

Kale: Yup... So... Play the exit sound so I can go back to sleep...

After speaking, Kale yawns, ready to put his head back down.

Kaito: No. We already have fanmail.

Kale: You can't handle reading mail without me...?

Kaito: Well, this fanmail is for you, so you'll have to stay awake.

Kaito looks the letter over, then looks to Kale.

Kaito: Both of us, actually.

Kale sighs and says in a low tone.

Kale: Curses... Go on...

Kaito opens the envelope and pulls out the letter, bringing it up so he can read it.

Kaito: "Dear Yasuhiro and Kazehana-san. Your appearance on Lucky Star has been enjoyable, but sudden, Could you tell us more about yourselves?"

Kaito turns to Kale.

Kaito: You better go first, cause if I did, I'd have to hit you awake again.

Kale rubs the back of his head, chuckling nervously.

Kale: Oy... Yeah, I guess. You do tend to drag on.

Kaito: Take it away.

Kale: Well, these questions always throw me off, y'know? I mean, what do they want to know? everything? That's a lot to talk about.

As he speaks, Kale leans against the desk, propping his head up with his arm and staring up at the ceiling.

Kale: And then, they never want the long explanation. It's really annoying...

Kaito: I guess you can say what you like or your background. Most people are satisfied with that.

Kale sighed, seemingly pained from the suggestion.

Kale: My... Background? Ngh... Well then, lets see... My dad is basically a deadbeat idiot who I haven't even had the displeasure of meeting yet, my mom is a self-loving, child-hating leech of a woman who hasn't divorced my dad yet because of the money, and I've been jumping from city to city to "stay close to the family". They even made me move away from Mijikai, just so mom could get more money from him, and so she could meet up with someone she's trying to get into a relationship with, the cheat...

Kaito blinked, somewhat stunned.

Kale: And now my father, the bastard, is trying to get me to go out of my way to meet him. Pssht, like I freaking care...

Kale glared at the screen, flailing angrily as he yells.

Kale: LEAVE ME ALONE ALREADY, _DAD_!! I'M NOT A TOY YOU CAN JUST CHOOSE TO ACCEPT WHEN YOU WANT YOU LITTLE-

Kale then sighed, looking a bit wobbly. A moment later, his forhead meets the desk.

Kale: That exhausted me... Please... Talk, Kaito-kun...

Kaito: Okay, then... I guess that's Kale-kun for you. Now for me, I was-

Ending fanfare

Kaito: Up, and there's the end of our show. Remember, if you want to contact us, just call in or go to our website.

Kale: And now... I go back to sleep...

Kaito waves at the camera as Kale yawned.

Kaito: Bye-bee!

Ending cards close

Kaito: So... How'd you get into the business? Ono Daisuke introduced me.

Kale: Money...

Kait: Sounds reasonable...

Pause

Kaito: ... How much money do you have?

Kale: ... Well...

Sound cuts off


	3. Chapter 3

I have to say, I hadn't expected to recieve such a positive reaction. To be quite honest, I had expected to fall under the radar. I am extremely happy, however, and I would like to thank everyone who reviewed or added the story to alerts. I really do enjoy it all, and it definately helps me call upon the energy required to write. And, uh, for the record - Yes, Splint, "Mijikai-chan" does roughly translate to "Shorty"... I had put up chapter 2 at four in the morning, and forgot that I had wanted to answer that for you. My apologies...

And... Wow. ate the breaks I put between "parts"... They're rather uneven now, though I can't mess them up that badly by mistake. As it got closer to the end, I made the break-line longer...

Final note, now concerning the Lucky Channel segments. Nuke and myself will be alternating with them. I will have it for all the odd-numbered-chapters, he will have it for all the even-numbered-chapters, with the exception for the previous chapter where we both had it. As for questions and comments concerning it - If you want, you can simply email us or ask in a review, and we'll respond to it accordingly. Of course, we have filler ideas for it as well, just in case...

Time to start, no?

-----------------------------------

"Oy, oy!!" Kale said in a rather worried tone, waving his hand over in Kagami's direction as she walked towards their table, carrying a tray with her lunch on it, "Ka-chaaan...!!"

"What is it, Kale?" Kagami asked as she took a seat across from Kale.

"I have something important to ask you, Ka-chaaan..." Kale nodded, pausing for a few moments after speaking, much to Kagami's annoyance.

"... Well? What is it?" Kagami pushed, getting ready to eat the bowl of ramen she had bought from the cafeteria.

"... Are you sure you want to eat that, Ka-chan?" Kale quickly said as she attempted to take a bite.

"Eh!? What do you mean?"

"Well, aren't you trying to watch your weight?" Kale stated, sitting back in his seat and folding his arms, nodding in assurance of his statement.

"I don't think ramen will make that much of a difference..." Kagami said, her voice trailing off as she wracked her mind, trying in vain to remember any special that had anything to do on ramen.

"It's true, right Miyuki-san?" Kale said, speaking rather loudly and quickly, though he took time to make sure he pronounced every syllable of Miyuki's name, and do it in a sing-song tone.

"Well, it is true that some ramen aren't recommended for people on a diet." Miyuki responded.

Kagami stared down at her ramen, rather worried. _I haven't strayed off of my diet, have I? I've been good... I even ate only a single bowl at dinner last night, while Tsukasa had three! B-But... It is true that some ramens have a lot of calories, and I did get a large bowl... _She thought, now starting to look more and more distressed, _And the other night, Tsukasa made cookies, and I did have a lot more than I should have!! Ohhhh..._

"Mmmm? You look distressed, Ka-chaan..." Kale cut into her thoughts.

Kagami merely sighed in defeat, pushing her bowl towards him, "Here, just take it..."

"Mmmmmmm... I dunno... If Ka-chaan wont eat the food she just bought, why would I?" Kale grinned.

"Then why did you even say anything?!" Kagami huffed, though quickly calmed down, "Oh, by the way, Kale... Why don't you ever bring anything for lunch?"

"Simple. I don't have enough time in the morning to make a lunch, I don't wake up as early as Konata. And it'd be weird to ask her to make it for me..." Kale sighed, "So I've learned to live without lunch."

"I can relate." Miyuki said in her typical, happy-to-speak manner, "Often times I'll wake up with hardly any time to get ready in the morning, so I often forget something that I need, like lunches, or a book, and one time even my homework!!"

"But that's just being forgetful, Miyuki..." Kagami said, turning to Kale, "Don't you think that by eating more, you'd grow taller?"

"Oh, yes... Some people say drinking milk makes you grow taller, and others say just eating more. Do you believe in that stuff, Kale-kun?" Miyuki asked.

Kale groaned, "I've already tried that. I drank more milk than you'd believe, and I used to eat a lot more. But I didn't grow at all..."

"I guess people like you and Konata are destined to be short forever." Kagami grinned, pointing at him teasingly.

"At least Konata attracts a certain group." Kale huffed.

"You say it like it's supposed to be a good thing, yet use a that tone. Do you think nobody would want to be with you?" Kagami asked, preparing to eat.

"... I'd rather not get into it..." Kale answered, his eyes wandering around the table, "By the way, where's Tsukasa?"

"She's home sick. Luckily, this time only she got sick, unlike last time..." Kagami sighed.

"Where's Kona-chan, Kale-kun?" Miyuki cut in.

"That one girl... Yutaka?... Anyway, she's been sick since Friday, and Sojiro-sama has been busy, oddly enough, so she's been home taking care of her. Always helping, my Mijikai-chan." Kale responded, pausing for a moment before continuing, "... But, that tall girl, Minami? Yeah, she's been popping in to take care of her, and Sojiro finds time... And Yui-chan pops in as well, so Konata finds time to visit me. I'm not totally alone."

"Do you have to sound like a lost puppy without her?" Kagami sighed.

"Mmmmm..." Kale thought, then shrugged, much to Kagami's annoyance, "Oh, and by the way..."

"Hm?"

"Lunch is almost over... you haven't even started on your food..."

--------------------------

"Do you always have to be so slow?" Kagami asked, irritated, as Kale finally poked his head out of the empty classroom, "Class is already over..."

"Sorry, sorry." Kale chuckled, rubbing the back of head nervously, "Kuroi-sensei held me up..."

"Why would she- Come to think of it, nevermind." Kagami sighed, motioning for Kale to follow.

"You don't have to assume everything is perverted, you know." Kale grinned, "You're getting to be a lot like Konata."

Kagami ignored that comment, continuing down the hallway. She had learned from Konata that often times it's best to ignore things like that, because it was simply bait into a rather perverted discussion. After a while, she felt the need to break the silence, worrying that Kale had fallen asleep as he walked.

"Say, Kale, you always come to everybody else's house." Kagami stated, watching her rather short friend to try and read his reactions, though he gave her his usual childishly-amused-yet-not-really-bothered expression, his attention obviously focused on her, waiting for her to continue, "You even sometimes invite yourself over, or flat out just show up."

"Mmmm... Maybe I do, Ka-chaan..." He replied a few moments later, dragging out the 'chan' for a few seconds in his typical manner of speak, tapping his finger against his bottom lip, "But, what's your point?"

"My point? Well, why don't you ever invite us over to your house?" She asked as she reached the end of the hall, holding the door open for her height-challenged classmate. _Now that I think about it, isn't the guy supposed to hold the door open? _

"Oh, I see... Can't wait to get me all by myself, hm, Ka-chaan?" Kale replied turning to face Kagami, who had fallen behind due to holding the door open, smiling rather smugly at his assumption.

"Hey! Don't take my question out of context like that!" Kagami yelled, blushing slightly at the rather direct question, "I only wanted to know why you don't invite any of us over."

"Wellll... Konata comes over..." Kale replied, resting his hand on his chin and donning an inquisitive expression. He then sighed, shifting his position to hold his head, looking somewhat troubled, "Though I never really do invite her over. Mijikai-chan just pops in..."

"Isn't that what happens with old friends? You've known her since you were babies, so she probably just feels that your part of the family." Kagami suggested, motioning for the two of them to start walking towards the train. As they started their walk, she continued, "Besides, if it really bothers you, why don't you just tell her to call ahead of time?"

"Hmmm... How do I put it..." Kale murmured, tilting his head up towards the cloudy sky, "... It's like, I've known her for so long, it's odd to tell her not to show up... Besides, the way that she acts by impulse so often is one of her most attractive qualities."

"Yeah, I guess she can grow on you..." She responded, wondering just how much the short, blue-haired otaku had grown on her as well, "But she should still be able to respect your boundaries."

"Meh..." Kale replied, almost in a whisper. He then looked to Kagami and smiled brightly, "So, you want to come to my place, huh, Ka-chaaan?"

"Of course, I'd bring Tsukasa. Miyuki probably wouldn't be able to make it, but I'm pretty sure Konata will make it." Kagami answered, noticing that they had reached the train station. She again held the door open for her short companion, and again questioned why she had done so.

"Ooohhhh... I see..." Kale said, turning to face her yet again, as she had fallen behind yet again. He again wore that pervertedly smug smile, "You want an audience when you do things to me. Oh, I can't wait, Ka-chaaan."

"You're just like her, you know that!?" Kagami yelled, her face turning a bright shade of red as certain thoughts raced through her imagination. Kale's knowing smile, as well as his wandering eyes, told her that she had done more than attract just a little attention, and proceeded to push past him, "J-Just hurry up onto the train, shorty!"

------------------------------------------------

Kale sighed, a slight yawn escaping from him. Time was currently lost to him, something he wasn't new to, being the lazy, easily exhausted person that he was. Had he dozed off, and it were already night, or had he been awake the entire time? He felt too drained to even move, and the conversation going on nearby was hardly exciting.

_Why would Ka-chaan come just to... Talk about nothing? Ngh... _He thought to himself, draping his arm over his eyes to block out the light, _Mijikai-chan said she's been really exhausted, because Hiyowai-chan is really sick, and she definately looked it, but knowing her she's been up all night playi-_

He was knocked out of his thoughts by Kagami, whom had begun shaking him roughly, "Hey, wake up. We're here to visit Konata, not for you to sleep in her bed."

Suddenly finding a surge of energy, Kale shrugged the assaulting hand off his body, rolling onto his belly and digging his face into his old friend's pillow, "Aiii, but she wouldn't make it look so cozy if she didn't want me to lay dooown..." He mumbled.

"Ho, ho! Just like Kale to wallow in a fantasy of his at a time like this. Don't worry, Kale, you can stay in my bed as long as you want!" Konata exclaimed, in a rather mocking tone. Though he was jolted to his senses by the rather crude remark, he noted that Konata sounded too tired to put her heart into the comment.

"Ngh..." He sighed, weakly lifting himself up and shuffling to the side of the bed, where he proceeded to slide down slowly and plant his back against the wooden support, letting out a long yawn afterwards.

"Oy, Konata, you're not supposed to harrass your guests like that." Kagami hissed, as she had already had her fill of perversion from Kale - Even though she had to admit, he wasn't nearly as bad as Konata could get.

"Oh?" Konata spoke through a won, quickly shifting her gaze between Kagami and Kale with a mischevious grin, "Oh, it seems Kagami is getting defensive of you, Kale!"

"Hey, I never said that!" Kagami felt her face redden despite herself - It wasn't that she had feelings for Kale, it was that she wasn't adjusted to Konata having a male to attack the comments to.

"Ka-chaan already tried to weasel her way into my house, hehe..." Kale responded to Konata, speaking in a tone much lower than his usual.

"You two are hopeless..." Kagami sighed, holding her head in frustration. She knew she should change the subject before the two found a way to continue. It didn't take her more than a moment to come up with a topic, as she had a question she had been meaning to ask Kale for quite a while. She turned to face the half-asleep boy, "Hey, Kale, I need to ask you why you call me that..."

"Mm?" Kale moved his head to face her, although he neglected to open his eyes, "'Ka-chan'?"

"Yeah. I realize that you like to give out nicknames, and I can understand that much..." Kagami explained, "But, I'm curious, what does it mean?"

"Hehe... I'm pretty proud of this one, actually." Kale said while grinning.

"Well, isn't it used to convey that you feel something is 'beautiful'?" Kagami asked, blushing a bit at the thought of such a compliment, though she felt there was more to it, "That's pretty straightforward, though. It's not like you."

"Kagamin gives herself to much credit." Konata teased, "Can't it also mean 'Passable'?"

"And it's also used at the end of a question." Kale nodded, chuckling.

"So which one is it?" Kagami asked, getting somewhat annoyed at the lack of a definitive answer.

"Mmm... I'd rather not say." Kale said in a teasing tone, giving Kagami a bright smile.

"Why not?!" Kagami groaned.

"Hehe... Because I'd rather keep you guessing." He grinned.

_Figures... _Kagami thought, sighing.

Feeling the need to make Kale uncomfortable again, Konata quickly scooted over her friend and put her arm around him, laying her head against his shoulder, "Mmm, that's Kale, always so confusing with his names..."

The moment he felt Konata's arm, Kale stiffened like a board, "K-Konata?" He questioned, glancing down to her. He immediately loosened up and sighed, as he had realized Konata was asleep, "Oy, she must have overworked herself taking care of Hiyowai-chan..."

"Please, she was up all night playing games." Kagami huffed, folding her arms across her chest.

"Hehe..." Kale chuckled, giving Kagami a nervous smile, "Can't you just try and look at the better of the possibilities?"

"At least you're the positive type." Kagami noted, reaching for Konata, "Oy, Konata, wak-"

"Shh, shhh..." Kale cut her off, shooing her hand away, "Just let her sleep."

"Oh? And what about you?" Kagami spoke flatly, unimpressed with Kale's need for affection.

"You don't hear me complaining, do you? Besides, I don't have the energy to make it home right now." Kale responded, motioning for the remote as he spoke, "And anyway, this reminds me of years back. And I miss those days, so at least let me appease my nostalgia."

"Should I be afraid to leave you two alone, then?" Kagami snickered, passing the remote to Kale.

"Hehe, don't worry, Ka-chaan. I only have hands for you." Kale grinned, giving her a thumbs-up.

_What!? _Kagami thought with a blush, standing up quickly, "I-I'm leaving!!"

------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Kaito: Lucky Channelru!!

Kaito smiles as the Lucky Channel title screen drops.

Kaito: Oha Lucky!!

Next to him sits Kale, who is, again, sleeping. Annoyed, Kaito jabbed Kale in the kidneys, causing him to sit up quickly.

Kaito: Time to talk, Kale.

Kale: Gah!!

Kale looked around, sighing.

Kale: Oh, yeah, this...

Kaito: Hey there, all you Lucky Channel fans! It's me, Kaito Yasuhiro...

Kale sighed, yawning softly.

Kale: And I'm Kazehana Kale.

Kaito: To all of our faithful viewers, you're in for a treat! For today's program, we'll be interviewing a very special guest from the show...

Kaito paused for dramatic effect.

Kaito: Kagami Hiiragi!!

Kagami: Ossu!

Kale: Hehe, it seems like Ka-chaan can't get enough of me on the show, and has to follow me here.

Kagami: Shut it...

Kaito: So, Kagami, how do you think the show will be with me and Kale taking the helm?

Kagami: I think it'll be good, and more watchable now that Akira is gone. However, it all depends on how many fans you can get...

Kale: Don't worry, we know you'll be forcing your friends and family to watch this, Ka-chaan.

Kagami smiled innocently at that.

Kagami: Well, that's what you do when you appear on television, right?

Kale: I meant every time, not just this time, Ka-chaan...

Kagami suppressed a scowl, eyeing Kale.

Kagami: Yeah... So?

Kale: ... So anyway...

Kale looked away from both Kagami and Kaito.

Kaito: So Kagami, how do you feel with your particular popularity in the series?

Kagami: It's nice, but I never expected someone boring like me to be THIS popular...

Kale: Hehe, maybe we all love Ka-chaan because she's 'boring'.

Kaito: Then again, someone full of failure like Tsukasa is unusually popular. Maybe the fans are strange.

Kagami: Oy, don't insult my sister!!

Kale smiled, putting his arm around Kagami's shoulders.

Kale: Don't worry, Ka-chaan, you'll always be my -second- favorite girl.

Kagami: Ugh... You two were made from Kona-chan's DNA, I can feel it...

Kale: ... Was that a crack at my height?

Kaito: She's sorrounded by short people, she probably has tons of insults for you.

Kagami: Hey! I'm not that kind of person! And you!

Kagami pointed to Kaito.

Kagami: I thought you were the kind one!!

Kale: Oy, Ka-chaan, you should hear the comments he makes about my height off-screen, he's just like my mom... Oh, scratch that, she's much worse. Always with a comment, she is... Oh, how I despise her...

Kaito and Kagami merely watch Kale, surprised at his comment.

Kaito: Err... I wouldn't say we're a traditional comedy duo, Kagami-san. We aren't a good guy and a bad guy, tsukkomi and boke, Akira and Shirashi...

Kale: Oh, and I can't wait till that despicable woman hears about this show, oh how I'll have to rip the phone cord out of the wall, and change email addresses...

Kaito: It's more of... The rational one, and the emotionally unstable one...

Kaito pointed to him, then Kale, as he spoke. Kale then poked Kaito.

Kale: You no talky, I rant now.

Kagami: Maybe I should leave...

Kaito: Oh, I'm sorry for the inconvienence Kagami-san.

Kale sighed, quickly changing the subject.

Kale: So, Ka-chaan, what do you think of the budding romance?

Kagami, getting panicky, wrapped her finger around one of her twintails.

Kagami: Uh... They are nice and all... But I don't want them to interrupt the main direction...

Kale: But don't you want to see what happens between us, Ka-chaaaaaaaaan?

Kagami started turning red.

Kaito: I'd like to see that.

Kale: You know, Ka-chaan, if you want to get started on that early...

Kagami: Stop talking!!

Kaito: Hmm... Very interesting. I got my on you, Ka-chan.

Kale pulls out a rolled-up newspaper and smacks Kaito on the head.

Kale: Only I can call MY Ka-chaan that.

Kaito: Ow...

Ending Fanfare

Kale: Aw...

Kaito: And that means our show is nearing it's close. I'd like to thank Kagami Hiirage for coming in for our interview.

Kagami looks away from the camera.

Kale: And I'd like to thank Ka-chaan for falling for me.

Kagami: I'm gone.

Kagami walks away.

Kale: Aw...

Kaito: Uh, uh... Be sure to contact the webpage and radio show! Bye-bee!!

Kale: She'll come around...

Kaito: ...

Kale: ... Right?

Ending card drops

Kaito: To be surprising, I expected the worst. Show some more appreciation for the stars, Kale.

Kale: Well, I agree at least. I figured I'd get slapped or something.

Kagami: You still want that slap?

Kale: Hey, I kept my hands and eyes in check! Unlike Ka-chaan, who couldn't keep staring at me! And I thought you left!

TV cuts off


	4. Chapter 4

Splint - We're only at chapter 4, you know about as much as I do about who he'll end up with. I'm really just writing it, and deciding later based on events in the fic.

Seeing as I wont have a Lucky Channel this week, I'll add something else to increase my word-count. And, wont going in-depth on Kale be a good way to do that? For anyone who's interested:

I noticed a running theme in Lucky Star wasn't just the references to other anime, but also the nods to other characters in character design; Something they reference over Tsukasa's resemblance to Akari, and Konata's resemblance to Shana is rather blatant... It's not something I forgot when tooling Kale up; I was somewhat inspired by Negima!? at the time, so his name is a nod to Negi's vegetable-themed name, and his size is also somewhat inspired by Negi's, though I was more drawing off Edward Elric with his clothing, and the long hair, despite the lack of ponytail, was from Ed, too. The personality was derived from Konata mostly, with changes to make him less of a clone, and more of his own, loveable character. As for his hair, dark purple is, to me, a rather great color, and purple hair exists in the anime already, so...

And as for the little bit of info revealed later in the chapter - That's a plot device I'm going to draw a lot of use from later; Basically, it's making _my_ life easier... Wasn't inspired by anything in particular.

Time to start!

----------

Kale walked down the sidewalk, feeling rather odd. This morning was very different for him; Not only was he wide-awake, which he hadn't been for months, but he was also smiling, and had found the energy to open his eyes completely, a feat in itself. Though, it was Konata's first day back after four days of caring for Yutaka, although two of days were on a weekend.

"Heee, look who I brought!" He spoke rather loudly, which struck him as quite odd - He was typically a very quiet person, after all.

"Ohayo Tsukasa." Konata greeted, looking from Tsukasa to her longer-haired twin, "... Friend."

"What do I keep telling you about writing me off like that?" Kagami huffed.

"Ohayo..." Yutaka piped in, speaking in almost a whisper, as she was still feeling rather weak.

"Oh, ohayo. I take it you feel better, then?" Kagami responded.

"Yes, thanks to Iwasaki-chan and Onee-chan." Yutaka answered with a nod.

"Hey, I helped too!" Kale exclaimed, pointing at himself proudly.

"Oh, and how was that?" Kagami questioned, giving him a rather skeptical look.

"By not showing up and distracting Mijikai-chan!" Kale declared, pumping his fist into the air.

"I kind of thank you for that, but at the same time I wish you would have come and helped." Konata said with a sigh, "It would have given me more time for my MMO."

"Mmmm... Sorry, Mijikai-chan, but I have a weak immune system." He lied, though he masked it well, "Imagine if you would have Hiyowai-chan get all better, and then had to take care of me?"

"I guess that's true." Konata responded, pausing for a moment to think, "But who said I'd take care of you?"

"B-But isn't that how it goes with long-time friends!?"

"Konata can't afford to lose days taking care of you, Kale." Kagami spoke in a matter-of-factly tone, "Can't your mother take care of you?"

"O-Of course I can find someone to watch me!" Kale stammered, starting to blush a bit, "That's not the point, though..."

"Ooohh, just like my Kale to want me watching over him." Konata said, with a sly smile. She started to nudge Kale, "Plenty of flags to be triggered that way, right Kale?"

"I-It's not that way at all, Mijikai-ch-chan!!" Kale stammered in response, his blush deepening, causing him to turn away on instinct to hide it.

"Do you always have to mention your dating sims, Konata?" Kagami practically hissed, her general reaction to her short friend mentioning her adult games, "Stop it, your weirding him out."

"Kagamin is just jealous that Kale prefers me to her." Konata said, poking Kagami's belly.

"D-Don't start acting that way because there's a guy in the group now, Konata! That's not it at all!" Kagami yelled, blushing at Konata's comment.

"... Why does it matter if a guy is around?" Yutaka asked, causing the girls to stop their bickering to come up with a suitable answer.

----------

Lunch came rather slowly for the girls, which wasn't all that odd. Once Lunch came, Kagami had reached her friends' classroom in record time, oddly looking forward to spending time with the group of five now that Konata was back. Though, oddly, Konata wasn't her usual upbeat, hyperactive self, along with Kale, who seemed more focused on staring out the window than the four girls.

"You seem pretty down all of a sudden." Kagami broke the silence, looking to Konata, "What's up?"

"The next chapters of my manga come out in a few days, and the magazines are expensive." Konata spoke as if it were obvious.

"Seriously, how much money do you spend on this stuff?" Kagami asked, annoyed by her friend's response.

"Why don't you just read it at the store and not buy it, Kona-chan?" Miyuki offered.

"How do I put it?" Konata thought for a moment, trying to come up with a suitable response, "I guess it's because it's not the way you want to go about things if you're an Otaku. You want to own your manga, you know? You have to support what you love!"

"If only you'd turn half of that love towards schoolwork..." Kagami said, sighing.

"Kale understands what I'm saying, right?" Konata turned to her withdrawn friend, who didn't seem to realize she was talking to him, continuing to stare out the window. She blinked, somewhat confused at his odd behavior, "Kale?"

"Are you okay, Kale?" Tsukasa questioned after Kale's continued silence.

It was Kagami who took the initiative, placing her hand on Kale's shoulder and shaking him rather roughly, "Oy, snap out of it."

"Mmm? What is... It?" Kale asked, squeezing his eyes shut for a moment in an attempt to bring him back to reality. He then noticed Kagami's hand on his shoulder, his mind instantly clicking back to it's usual self, though he spoke rather weakly, "Mmmm? Can't keep your hands off me, Ka-chaan?"

At that, Kagami retracted her hand, rolling her eyes at his predictable response, "Do you always have to think like that?" She asked, "Anyway, what's up?"

"Excuse me?" Kale questioned.

"You were zoning out." Konata pointed out, "Is something wrong?"

"I was just... Thinking." Kale responded, sounding as if he were slowly slipping back into his previous mindframe.

"Still thinking about the flags to be raised if you get sick, aren't you?" Konata asked, grinning to herself, "My, you must really want me."

"S-Stop talking like that!" Kale exclaimed, blushing softly. He then sighed, "I was just wondering, what it would be like if I were closer to my parents."

"You don't get along with your mother? I know you and your father aren't close at all, but what about her?" Kagami asked, finding it odd that a child wouldn't get along with either of their parents.

"M-My mom scares me, actually..." Kale admitted, laying his head on the desk, "And, I actually don't think she likes me at all."

"But she moved here for you to be closer to your friends, so that must mean something..." Miyuki suggested, always the type to attempt to see the good in someone.

"She didn't come, she's back at the other house... I'm all alone." Kale responded, sighing, "So, I don't know my father and I don't speak to my mother at all, and my relatives aren't that fond of me either."

"Don't worry, Kale, at least you live right across the street from me." Konata offered, patting her friend's back. She the grinned, "Though, you inviting me into your lonesome house is a pretty flag-inducing action."

At that, Kale blushed more than the previous times, "J-Just drop it, Mijikai-chan!!"

----------

The activity chosen for after school was a rather common one. Konata had decided that she wanted to examine the newest releases, as today was the date that most shops recieved their shipments, and that meant that she would have to go to Animate. She had also went on to decide that Kale would go with her, though he admitted to most likely following her anyway, and the Hiiragi's, without much else to do, decided to accompany their friends.

Her Otaku-levels rising with each step, Konata found it difficult to keep pace with her friends, who had started walking slower and slower lately due to Kale's slower way of living through life. Without noticing it, Konata had started to walk faster and faster, speeding ahead of her three friends.

"Oy, Konata! Wait up!" Kagami yelled in protest, starting to walk faster to keep up with her height-challenged buddy. Uncomfortable with being alone with a boy, and too used to being alongside her sister, Tsukasa started to walk faster to keep pace with her twin, while Kale, unable to quicken himself, fell behind without much of a complaint.

She went through the standard routine, pushing through the door and walking quickly towards the manga section. Konata had long since memorized the layout of both Animate and Gamers, and was able to easilly locate what she sought, while Kagami and Tsukasa decided to wander. Little did she know, or suspect, that she was being watched, by none other than Anime Tenchou Anisawa Meito, hot-blooded manager.

Meito watched his prey carefully, staying within the shadows behind her, examining her, studying her every move near-obsessively. His eyes shined with a sharp, red light, a red aura starting to form around his being.

_Legendary Girl A... So you decide to test Animate again!!_

Flames erupting in his eyes, Meito leapt into the air, performing a spectacular aerial display of flips and twirls before landing on his feet behind the register.

_Very well, then!! Everyone!! Put out our newest stock!!_

With nothing more than an affirmative, the loyal workers of Animate quickly flew through the shop, working fast and expertly enough that the three girls within the store didn't even notice they were mobilized. Before long, they had completely set up the newest stock and returned to their regular positions so as to not obstruct the magic...

All the while, Meito watched from his position at the register, keeping his eye on the blue-haired Otaku within his shop.

_Yes, throw everything out in front of her! She'll be unable to resist making a purchase!!_

Already aware of all the new releases, and completely intent on obtaining what she had come here for, Konata briskly made her way through aisle after aisle. However, the Hiiragi's weren't as fortunate, and easily fell prey to Anime Tenchou's trap, each grabbing seperate volumes of their favorite mangas.

_Legendary Girl A's friend can't resist our attempts, but I see-_

"Excuse me, we'd like to buy these..." Kagami broke his chain of thought, oblivious to the fact that a seller's battle was currently being waged.

"Hm? Oh, ha ha!! of course!!" Meito laughed triumphantly, inwardly celebrating his victory over Legendary Girl A's friends.

"Nnngh..." Came a groan from behind Kagami, a purple-topped head trying to peer over her shoulder. Somewhat annoyed at his height challenging his ability to see over her, Kale forced his way between the twins, "What're you buying, Ka-chaaaaan?"

"Whaaat!? Kale?! You've returned!?" Meito yelled in surprise, stumbling back a bit. Once he overcame the shock, tears of joy started flowing, "Finally!! My second greatest customer has returned!!"

"Huh? You know each other, Kale?" Tsukasa asked her short friend.

"Mmmmm... You think Mijikai came here alone before she met you?" Kale asked in return.

Letting out a cry of joy, Meito burst into tears, gripping his fist tightly, "This is a great day! Legendary Girl A's cohort has returned!!" Continuing with the overdramatics, he thrust his arm out in Kale's direction, pointing at him, "Now that you're here, you should stay! And start working!"

"Oy, oy, Meito-san, you don't understand! I'm here with friends, not here for a job!!" Kale pleaded, flailing his arms in despair, woeful rivers of tears forming beneath his eyes, "I don't want to get a job yet! I still enjoy my freedom!!"

"You don't want to work here?" Meito asked, somewhat confused that the somewhat-closeted Otaku turned down the offer. He clenched his fist in anger, flames enveloping him for a moment, "WHY NOT!? Don't you want to follow in your father's footsteps!?"

The mere mention of his father made Kale sigh, "Mmm, no offense, Meito-san, but I don't think Animate is the best place to start if I wanted to do that..."

"Wait... What exactly does your father do?" Kagami questioned.

"Well-" Kale started.

Meito, raising his fist to face-level with himself, his eyes shining brightly, cut off Kale, "Kazehana-sama is the head of a multi-national corporation which unofficially owns and controls several other large, wealthy businesses!"

"Wait... That sounds like the type of job a rich person would have." Kagami murmured, connecting the dots in her head. She slowly looked to her friend, who merely gave her a confused glance, which caused her to sigh, "Kale..."

"Mmmmmmgh..." Kale groaned, "You're right..."

"Hey, lets get going." Konata called to the group, standing at the door empty-handed.

"W-What!? You're not buying anything!?" Meito exclaimed.

"What can I say? You don't have what I'm looking for." Konata said, shrugging apathetically before stepping outside.

"NOOOO!!!" Meito screamed, an explosion sending him and his employees flying away, Meito himself yelling, "WE'LL GET YOU, YET!!!"


	5. Chapter 5

A day late to update... When I've had the chapter written for weeks. I really have no excuse... I blame Nuke, hahahaha...

Anyway - In case it hasn't been clear, which I'm not sure, seeing as... As the writer, I can't distance myself from the works... Well, each chapter is supposed to take place a few days after one another, unless stated or implied otherwise (( Such as chapter 2, which took place the day after 1. ))

So... I hope that clears up any confusion over some statements in previous chapters on events that haven't been depicted or built upon; Honestly, I can't come up with a dozen ideas to make everything interesting, so if Kagami says Kale has been to the other girls' places a lot that means I didn't have it in me to expand and make that worth anyone's time...

Nobody's said anything. I just felt a little odd, as that deserved an explanation nonetheless.

Sorry about the Lucky Channel. I tried a different format that this site doesn't agree with, so I had to fix it real quick - Hence, the crappy "-"s... I'll probably edit it to a more agreeable and prettyfull format later.

-----

Yet another day had passed, and another begun, bringing with it classes. Kale groaned to himself as he walked towards the school, accompanied by the twin Hiiragi's and the miniscule Izumi. Oddly enough, they hadn't begun idle conversation as they made the final leg of the journey, instead walking quietly.

Though, as always, one person in a group must break the silence. Today, it was Kagami, attempting to spark up a conversation as well as satiate her curiosity, "So, Kale, I have to ask, why didn't you ever tell us you were, well... Rich?"

"Mmm..." Kale murmured to himself in a manner that implied he was thinking, a usual start to an answer of a question for him. He then turned to her and smiled, "Ka-chaan, always interested in the 'Why' of things... What would it do if I told you 'why'? Do you think you would be able to change anything?"

"Those are pretty big words coming from the person who's always asking us why we do things." Kagami snapped back, though she found it in her to control her voice.

"Hee... I have a reason to do that, though." Kale spoke smugly.

"Because... You don't believe what you just said?" Tsukasa offered.

"Oh, no... Because. I'm naturally curious, and I like to know things." Kale responded, speaking in a tone that seemed to imply he felt the answer were obvious.

"Hey, why would you ask me a question like that if you have your own answer for it?" Kagami asked in minor annoyance.

"Because, I wanted to see if you had an answer, Ka-chaan." Kale shrugged.

"Oh, Kagamin." Konata cut in, speaking in a condescending tone, "Don't get so mad at Kale. I can tell you why."

"Oh really..." Kagami held back a sigh, unsure if Konata was about to toss an Otaku-grown excuse to her, or answer reliably.

"Yes!" Konata said in a rather happy tone, "He didn't tell you because he didn't want to! Right, Kale?"

"Yup. By the way, thanks for not selling me out like Meito-san, Mijikai." Kale said, with a grateful nod to Konata.

"Wait, she knew!?" Kagami felt more surprised then she should have been - After all, Konata and Kale always bring up how they're childhood friends, why wouldn't Konata know?

"Well, to tell the truth, I was going to tell them eventually... I just kinda took my time. And by the time I had remembered to, we were at Animate..." Konata said with a sigh, the look in her eye indicating that she felt as if she had lost some sort of battle.

"Well, I'm glad you're good at procrastination, Mijikai..." Kale sighed in response, not surprised by Konata's natural mischeviousness, nor her sometimes-shotty memory and putting things off until it was too late.

"Aww..." Konata murred, leaning against Kale and rubbing her face against his while bringing him into a tight hug.

"W-What the...!?" Kale stammered, stiffening up like a board as his face lit up in a blush.

"Don't worry your little head, Kale-sama, I wasn't really going t-"

"Hey, hey!!" Kale cried out, wiggling himself free of Konata's grasp, stumbling a few feet back.

Konata giggled as she studied Kale's flustered expression, "Gee, I never noticed how cute Kale-sama's blush is..."

Her words caused Kale to blush even more, bringing him to turn his face away from her gaze, "C-Cut it out, Mijikai-chan..."

_And to think I thought he was as bad as her... _Kagami thought, mentally sighing.

-----

"Oy, cursed Mijikai-chan and her plotting without me..." Kale sighed as he walked down the packed hallways of the school. Everyone was, like him, making their way to the exits, as classes had ended and nobody wanted to stay in school longer than they had. Kale had the unfortunate luck, however, of having nobody to accompany him home, as his usual group of four friends had already made plans, which included purchasing now-sold-out tickets. Of course, Kale, being uninformed of this until recently, was unable to follow them.

"Yo, Kale!" A rather deep voice called from behind him. Kale stopped, glancing back, though by that time the person had already caught up and was standing next to him. Kale looked up at the person - He was a little over six feet tall, with moppy orange hair, and while he wasn't very muscular, it was apparent that he worked out and trained his body.

Kale couldn't help but shudder a bit under the person's gaze, but managed to smile, "Oh, hey, Takeshi-san."

"Hmph, you quickly adjusted for someone who's been gone for a year, huh?" Takeshi spoke in a rather irritated tone, planting a hand on the shorter boy's head, messing with his hair, "Rich punk like you should be more careful 'round places like this."

"Ai, ai!! Takeshi-saaan!! Stoppiit!!" Kale whined, flailing around. Takeshi merely laughed and removed his hand, ignoring the glare he was recieving, "You know, just because you're so much taller than me doesn't mea-"

"Relax; I'm just messin' with you. You know, you need to be more serious and mature to make up for your height, if you want to be taken seriously."

"Coming from the guy who picks fights with everyone..." Kale mumbled.

"What was that?" Takeshi questioned loudly, looking at Kale out of the corner of his eye.

"N-Nothing, Takeshi-san." Kale chuckled nervously, waving his hands in front of him innocently.

"Yeah, that's what it always is with you people... Hmph, come on..." Takeshi said, starting to walk down the hall, taking the most direct path towards the exit.

"W-Wait up, Takeshi-san!" Kale called out, walking faster to keep up with his longetime friend.

"So, what have you been up to?" Takeshi asked, the tone in his voice making it clear that he wasn't all that interested.

"O-Oh, nothing. You know how it is, same as always..." Kale answered, rubbing the back of his head and grinning nervously, "My routine doesn't change that often, you know."

"Heh, I noticed... So, still hang out with those girls, huh?" Takeshi chuckled, tapping a finger to his chin, "What was the name of the girl you liked, again? Was it K-"

"E-EH!? T-T-Takeshi-san, I don't like anyone!!" Kale exclaimed, laughing nervously afterwards, "I-I'm one of those lonely types, you know, heh..."

"Yeah, yeah... I think I know her. Ayano and Misao are always talking about her." Takeshi lied. He knew Kale was hanging out with four girls, and knew one of these girls was close with Ayano and Misao. It was fair to say he probably did know a lot about the girl he liked, he just didn't know which it was. He turned to Kale, "Maybe I should ask her out. She sounds fun."

"Y-HEY!!" Kale yelled out, blushing, "Don't you go asking her out!!"

Takeshi smiled to himself, amused at how thrown off Kale was at that, "Hm? Why can't I?"

"Because I'm going to!" Kale yelled, then yelped as he realized what he had said, clamping his hands over his mouth, blushing furiously.

Takeshi laughed at his friend's outburst, "Oh, I thought you weren't interested, though!"

"Shut up!!" Kale yelled in response, blushing even more, quickly formulating an excuse, "I-I just don't want-"

"Yeah, yeah, whatever, kid. Just hurry up and get her before someone else tries." Takeshi advised, "And hurry up, we have to meet with people..."

-----

_It's getting late... I should hurry home..._ Kale thought, approaching the turnstyle to get into the subway, chuckling softly at his thoughts, _Wait, who's going to tell me I'm late? Ah well, I'm tired..._

"Oh, it's Kale-san..." A familiar voice said, a few feet away from Kale. Lazilly, Kale turned his head to face the voice, which happened to be Konata's cousin, Yutaka. She smiled merrily and waved at him, "H-Hello, Kale-san."

"Mm...? Oh, hello Hiyowai-chan." Kale responded, waving lazilly in return, "Spending some time out without Mijikai?"

"Y-Yeah!" Yutaka nodded, a small smile evident, "Me and my friends are going out to eat."

It was just now, when Yutaka mentioned them, that Kale noticed the three girls behind Yutaka, "Oh, I see..." He said, nodding towards Minami, "I've at least seen one of them before."

"Hello." Minami spoke, in her typical, lifeless tone.

"But, I don't believe..." Kale glanced past Minami and Yutaka, looking at Patricia and Hiyori, "I've met these two before."

"O-Oh, yes... Kale-san, this is Hiyori-chan, and Patricia-chan."

"Konnichi-wa." Hiyori and Patricia said, waving to Kale.

_Gnnngh!! He looks so familiar!! Which character does he look like!? Which!? _Hiyori thought.

"Where are you going, Kale-san?" Yutaka questioned.

"Eh... Home... Mijikai-chan and her friends are busy, so I have nothing to do." Kale answered with a shrug.

"Oh, why don't come with us?" Patricia offered.

"Oh, that's a good idea... Yeah, Kale, come on, we're going to eat." Yutaka smiled brightly, "You haven't eaten yet, have you?"

"Mmgh..." Kale groaned, thinking of earlier...

---

"Anyway, you three said you wanted to go out and eat, right?" Takeshi nodded to Ayano and Misao.

"Yeah, lets get sushi!!" Misao replied excitedly, pumping her arm into the air.

"Sushi?" Ayano tilted her head to the side, looknig to Kale, "Kale-san, do you like sushi?"

"Mmm... Not really. I'm not that hungry, though, so don't worry." Kale replied.

---

"I think I can fit dinner into my schedule..." Kale answered with a sigh, _I only said I wasn't hungry to be polite, seeing as Misao seemed dead-set on sushi... But I hadn't expected to spend so much time there, now I'm __**really**__ hungry..._

"Okay! Come on, then." Yutaka spoke happilly, walking ahead with Minami in tow.

"Hey, wait up." Patricia said, following the two.

"You don't look like the type to rush. We could walk slower, if you want." Hiyori suggested, being the only one left with Kale.

"Mm? Alright, if you say so." Kale nodded, grateful that he didn't need to match paces with the three hungry girls ahead of them. He slowly started to walk after the three, with Hiyori walking alongside him.

"So, you're a friend of Yutaka's?" Hiyori asked.

"I'm a friend of Mijikai-cha - er, Konata's." Kale answered, "Long-time friend, to be exact, and I spend a lot of time over... So I met Hiyow- Er, Yutaka, through her."

"Oh, I see. I didn't know Konata had younger friends." Hiyori commented, smiling innocently.

"What's that supposed to mean?" Kale asked, holding back the urge to yell at her, though he started talking faster due to his annoyed state, "I'm just as old as her. In fact, my birthday is a few days before hers, I'm technically older!"

"Gnnngh!" Hiyori groaned, "Sorry, sorry!! I just thought, with your height and all, that-!"

"Oh, pay it no mind. I'm used to it. I've been called everything from 'Childhood prodigy' to 'High School brat' because of my height - You can tell a lot of people are confused. Just, be sure to remember, I'm a FULL inch taller than my Mijikai-chan." Kale responded, putting emphasis on the latter part of his speech.

"Hey, you called Yutaka 'Hiyowai-chan', and you call Konata 'Mijikai-chan'... Do you give nicknames often?" Hiyori quickly asked, trying to change the subject.

"Mmm, as often as I can..." Kale answered, glad at the change, "I don't even notice it, half the time..."

"So, should I expect one for me and Patty?" Hiyori questioned, watching Kale as he considered her question.

"Heheee... I dunno. We'll have to see, once I get to know you better." Kale grinned.

"Oh, okay." Hiyori shrugged.

"Oh, by the way... Why do you have a bag? It's pretty late, and you're not in your school outfit, so that means you've been home..." Kale pointed at her backpack as he spoke.

"Oh, you're good... Well, I happen to bring my supplies with me everywhere, in case I'm struck with inspiration."

"Mmmm... Inspiration?" Kale thought. His mind quickly processed what that could mean, instantly coming up with several rather perverted conclusions, causing him to grin, "Like-"

"I draw manga." Hiyori quickly cut him off, knowing what his grin meant.

"Ohhh, you're an aspiring mangaka, eh?" Kale nodded. _Perhaps, if she's good enough, I can be the one to 'discover' her and get her published!_

"You could say that."

"So, what do you draw?"

"Oh, you know... Some personal experiences... Yuri..." Hiyori answered, speaking a bit lower at the latter part.

_... HOT. _Kale couldn't help himself, trying not to look at Hiyori as images flooded his mind.

_GNNNNGH!!! I think he's misunderstood that!!_

-----

The restaurant was a rather odd one, with a large selection of food available for order that covered nearly any desire the group of five could have. Luckily they had a single large booth that sat against the door for the group. Yutaka and Minami had already claimed one side, with Yutaka sitting closest to the window and Minami sitting next to her. Patricia had already claimed the other window-seat, and, as he arrived first, Kale slid in next to her, with Hiyori sitting on his other side.

They sat in silence, with Kale silently praising himself in his head for somehow getting between two attractive women. He looked between the two of them, though couldn't figure out which he preferred. Yutaka couldn't stand the silence, however, and quickly killed it, "Oh, Kale. How are you adjusting to school here?"

"Oh? You were out of town?" Hiyori asked.

Kale nodded, "Yup, I was out of the country for a little over a year with my mother. I'm adjusting fine, though, nothing's really changed."

"You were... Out of the country, Kale?" Minami spoke in her monotone voice, attempting to jump into the conversation.

"Oh, yeah... Mijikai told you that, eh, Hiyowai-chan? I guess that's how you knew to ask..." Kale chuckled, rubbing the back of his head as he spoke, "Anyway, I was in the States the whole time. Mother bought a house there, so she dragged me out. But I couldn't stand being away from my Mijikai-chan, so I just had to come back."

"Excuse me." A waitress smiled, standing at the edge of the table, "May I take your orders?"

"Ooh, ooh!" Kale said excitedly, folding his arms and thinking for a moment, "Oh! How about three platters of mitarashi dangoooo?"

"Isn't that normally a dessert, Kale?" Patricia questioned.

"Mmmm... What's your point?"

"Onee-chan did say Kale has a thing for sweets... Oh! I'd like... Hmmm..." Yutaka became lost in thought for a moment, "May I have nigiri-sushi?"

_How does someone as lazy as him have a thing for sugary foods? _Hiyori thought, then shook her thoughts free of her head, smiling to the waitress, "Oh, may I get an order of rice curry?"

"And I'd liiiike... Hm... Oh, I guess the same as Hiyori." Patricia said with a nod.

_Maybe... If I order the same meal, I'll... _Minami thought, patting her chest, "I-I'd like the same, as well..."

"Alright, then. That's three orders of curry, one ramen, one sushi, and three dangos? I'll bring it all as soon as possible."

"Wait... Patty-chan?" Kale turned to face Patricia, "You work with Mijikai-chan at the cosplay cafe, right?"

"Mhm! We're really popular!" Patricia happily responded, "People come several times a week just to see us."

"Hmm..." Kale thought, speaking to nobody in particular, "Oh, what would Mijikai-chan's father do if he knew she worked in such a place?"

"What do you mean?" Hiyori asked.

"Well..." Kale began to explain, but was cut off by the sudden appearance of several waitresses carrying their orders. Ignoring the fact that they were especially fast in preparation, Kale stared down at the order in front of him, mentally arguing with himself over which to eat first. His eyes finally settled down upon the one in the middle, and he happily snatched up the clean side of the stick, "Yee"

"So, you were saying?" Hiyori pressed, her curiosity getting the better of herself, "Izumi-san is overprotective of Kona-chan?"

"Mmm..." Kale mumbled to himself as he ate.

---

Kale and Sojiro were sitting in a somewhat expensive looking restaurant, several empty plates on the table separating them from one-another, save for a plate in the middle with a lone dango stabbed onto a long stick.

Gnawing on the tips of the four empty dango-sticks in his mouth for a moment, Kale looked from the plate to Sojiro, "Hee, Sojiro-senpai, I gotta say, I'm not too used to being taken out for dinner."

"Yeah? Well, I haven't seen you in a while. I figured we should talk over a meal." Sojiro explained, relaxing in the comfortable seat, "Was it enjoyable?"

"Mm-hmm. don't get sweets like this overseas" Kale spoke in a sing-songy tone, reaching for the last dango and lifting it to his mouth.

"Oh? Well, that's good. Just one thing I have to ask you, though, before we leave." As he spoke, he closed his eyes and took a deep breath. Unable to speak due to the food in his mouth, Kale merely mumbled what sounded like an affirmative, so Sojiro continued, "What were you doing with my daughter sleeping on you like that a couple days back?"

"Urk!" Kale gasped, quickly forcing the food in his mouth down. Amazingly, he found it in him to crack a nervous smile to the angry Sojiro, defensively holding his hands up in front of himself, "N-No, you misunderstand, she just fell asleep while we were talking, and... and...!"

---

Kale shuddered at the memory, biting down on the stick in his mouth that once held three dango, using his tongue to push it to the corner of his mouth. He shifted his gaze to Hiyori, who was giving him an odd look, and smiled nervously, "Y-You could say that..."

"My father's pretty overprotective of me, too." Hiyori admitted, then smiled meekly, "Luckily, nobody's shown a real interest in me, so he hasn't had a major freak out yet..."

"Oi, oi, mind moving over a bit, then? Last thing I need is a second father out for my blood..." Kale groaned, shifting his attention to Patricia, eying her figure a bit, "Hehe, but I don't think Patty-chan would have an overprotective father, seeing as she's here overseas..."

"Oh, not really. My father actually wanted me to come here, my mother was the one that objected." Patricia explained.

"I see, I see..." Kale nodded, "Interesting..."

Keeping track of the conversation, Yutaka turned to Minami, "Do you have an overprotective father?"

"Actually... I don't have much contact with my father." Minami explained, speaking in her typical, monotone voice.

"Wow, you must be pretty strong to go on so happily without a father." Yutaka smiled brightly.

_Hey! I have an insane mother and an invisible father, and she gets the praise? Definately related to Mijikai-chan_, Kale thought, suppressing a groan.

"N-Nevermind them, they get like that..." Hiyori explained, noting Kale's expression.

------

Kaito: Lucky Channelru!!

-Lucky Channel card drops-

O-ha Lucky!!

-As usual, Kale is asleep with head down on the desk.-

Kaito: I'm getting tired of this...

-Kaito places his hand on Kale's back.-

Kaito: Get up, Lazy.

-Kale quickly shoves Kaito out of his chair.-

Kaito: AH!

-Thud!-

-Kale sits up, grinning proudly.-

Kaito: You idiot, why did you do that!?

Kale: Hehehe, that's for always waking me up so violently, Kaito-san.

Kaito: Grr... Whatever.

-Kaito climbs back into his seat.-

Kale: Hm... Looks like it's time for them to listen to us talk. What's the topic?

Kaito: Well today, the producers decided since the first year students were given so much time, it's our duty to tell the viewers about them. After all, they were mentioned, but nothing more, in the original Lucky Channel.

Kale: Hm... I think we should start with Mijikai-chan's cousin, Yutaka.

Kaito: She was the first one seen, so I believe so. Don't you have the card?

Kale: Uhhhh...

-Kale reaches under the desk, and produces a large picture of Yutaka.-

Kale: I... Guess.

Kaito: Hmm... Okay then. This is Kobayakawa Yutaka, the newest member of the Izumi residence.

Kale: Apparently, Hiyowai-chan has a weak immune system, and gets sick easily. And that's why she moved in with Mijikai-chan, who's excellent at taking care of others! Mmm... Though, I think that was already explained...

Kaito: Yutaka mainly moved in to go to the same school, since before she was living with her energetic older sister, Yui.

Kale: Hehe... I'd do the same. It seems... Mmm, tiring to live with Yui-san.

Kaito: She was able to adjust really well, and she made a few friends pretty quickly, as well as being friendly with Kona-chan's friends. Despite her problems in earlier years.

Kale: Mmm... Ever notice that she doesn't seem very 'sickly'? I may need to re-nickname her...

Kaito: Come to think of it, her face looks like she's always red. She's the easily surprised type, I guess... Oy, this is hard... -Sighs.-

Kale: And- Mm?

Kaito: It's really hard for me to describe such a fanservice character.

Kale: Heee... I could take that the wrong way, you know. -Pokes Kaito.-

Kaito: Well, fanservice characters are there to serve, specifically the male demographic. They don't really do much... Other than their fanservice characteristics.

Kale: Hehehe... Sooo... What about Hiyowai-chan's character is so appealing to you?

Kaito: Nothing. She's a "Moe fanservice" character. Not a "Physical fanservice" character.

Kale: Mm...? Go on.

Kaito: Well... Don't you think it's a bit too coincidental? Konata has a cousin... Even tinier than her. Who acts even more cutesy and naive than Tsukasa? Konata puts Miyuki and Yutaka on the same level, but there are clear differences!

Kale: -Pokes Kaito.- Kaito-san has trouble realizing people have opinions that differ from his own, it seems.

Kaito: That's possible, but don't deny the fact that we have a girl here who's supposedly 15 and has the mind and body of a ten-year-old. -Rolls eyes.-

Kale: Hm... Konata has the body, too. Just taller. What's your point? -Pokes Kaito. Again.-

Kaito: Konata has the body, but at least the mind of a teenager. She acts like... A real person. An obsessive Otaku, but a believable person nonetheless.

Kale: Mmm...? And there aren't 'real' people who act like Hiyowai-chan?

Kaito: Who are that old and have the same physical and mental frame? Doubt it.

Kale: -Pokes him. Yet again.- So, what are you getting at, anyway?

Kaito: That Yutaka's presence is there to satisfy fans.

Kale: -Shrugs.- Doesn't bug me.

Kaito: It wouldn't bug me that much, if Yutaka wasn't so one-dimensional.

Kale: Mm? My, you sure have a lot to say about her.

Kaito: You see characters like her in shows from time-to-time, so they are hard to not notice.

Kale: Hee I'm not sure how to reply to all of this. I don't know Hiyowai-chan well enough to defend her.

Kaito: You'll find out soon enough...

Kale: ... Oy, what do you mean by that?

Kaito: You hang around with Konata enough...She'll start latching onto you.

Kale: Oy, oy, I don't need that!

-Ending fanfare plays.-

Kaito: Oh! Well, I guess that'll be the end of our show! You know how to contact us, so get to it.

Kale: Mhmhm... And now I get to go back to sleep.

Kaito: Bye-ni!! -Waves at the screen.-

-Kale lays head down again.-

-Ending Screen drops.-

Kaito: Oh boy... That was tough. The other characters are better, right?

Kale: Hee... For the most part.

Kaito: Good thing. You know...

Kale: Mmm?

Kaito: You're a rarity like Yutaka and Konata.

Kale: Hehehe... It's called Shota.

Kaito: Don't think I've ever seen a man under five feet before...

Kale: Oy... Never seen a rich teenager with mansions spanning... Everywhere he can think of, either, have you?

Kaito: Life is strange.


	6. Chapter 6

Yikes, this is my last complete chapter that I have backed up... Good thing I have a whole week off from school to get a few chapters ahead.

And no, I don't know what I was thinking when I wrote the conversation in the latter half of the chapter, and yes it was intended to be random like that.

Bypasses the usual ANs and starts.

------

Several days had passed since Kale's run-in with Yutaka and her group of friends, and while Kale enjoyed spending time with them now and again, he ultimately found it more enjoyable to be around Konata and her friends. While Hiyori and Patricia were particularly fun to be around, and Yutaka struck him as a clone of Tsukasa, Minami served to be his exact opposite in many ways, and while he held no grudge against her, he found her to be quite the mood-killer.

However, he still opted to spend his lunches with Konata and the others, though whether it was due to Konata, the more enjoyable atmosphere, or his laziness restricting what he would do anyway, he was unable to figure out...

Again, it was a rather run-of-the-mill lunch for the group of friends, having formed their little circle of desks. Nothing had happened much recently, other than the four adjusting to Kale, whom they had all come to see in a different light ever since the encounter at Animate - Except for Konata, who had already known, of course. So sat the four girls and pint-sized heir, enjoying yet another lunch period...

"Nnnngh, so drained..." Kale groaned, his head planted on the desk he had chosen to sit at for lunch, "I can hardly move..."

"I was up all night playing my MMO, I'm pretty tired, too." Konata responded, letting out a short yawn before laying her head down on her desk as well.

"You know ,you two have really bleak futures..." Kagami sighed, glancing between her two short classmates. She shook her head in annoyance, "If you two don't pick it up and focus on school..."

"Oh, Kagamin, you forgot something important." Konata said energetically, lifting her head from the desk and giving Kagami a condescending look, "Kale's rich, he doesn't have t oworry about getting a good job."

"T-That's true." Tsukasa said aloud, tilting her head to the side in thought for a moment before turning to Kale, "But, then why do you come to school Kale?"

"So Ka-chaan has someone to stare at during lunch." Kale replied flatly, giving Tsukasa a bored glance. The tone in his voice seemed to imply he felt the answer were obvious.

"How long are you going to make comments like that?" Kagami groaned. She felt herself blushing softly, mainly due to the fact she was beginning to wonder why Kale targeted her specifically, but still felt the need to shut him down. Turning her attention away from him, she spoke as if she were unimpressed with the comment, "Get over yourself, already."

"You always blush, and we never see you even bother to deny anything." Konata noted, poking Kagami's arm playfully, "Interested?"

"You... You...!" Kagami felt herself blushing even more at Konata's comment, deciding to quickly change the subject, thrusting her arm out in Konata's direction and pointing at her, "Don't change the subject! What are your plans for after school, Konata?"

"Kagami has to point at me so dramatically." Konata commented, turning to Kale, "Has she watched some Gurren Lagann?"

"Mmgh..." Kale turned away from the girls, speaking in a low tone, somewhat hoping his comment wouldn't be heard, "Ka-chaan points better when it's cold out."

The comment sent a shiver down Kagami's spine, resulting in Kale recieving a glare capable of bothering even him, "Okay, I was wrong, you're even worse than Konata." She hissed, speaking in a rather cold tone.

"I don't get it... What do you mean, Kale?" Tsukasa questioned, finding it difficult to follow Kale's seemingly random comments.

"So naive, Tsu-san..." Kale sighed, "Well, you see, when it's cold ou-"

"Don't you go filling her head with your perverted little facts, Kale." Kagami cut him off, "Don't worry about it, Tsukasa."

"Mmm, fine. It'd be no fun, anyway." Kale chuckled, grinning a bit.

"I wont even ask..." Kagami sighed.

"SO!" Konata exclaimed, getting everyone's attention, "What are we doing after school?"

"I have no plans today." Miyuki spoke up, for the first time today.

"Yeah, me and Tsukasa were hoping one of you three would have something for everyone to do today." Kagami explained, "Looks like we're all going home earlier than normal today."

"You should all come to my place today." Kale stated.

"Oh? Why the sudden hospitality, Kale-san?" Miyuki asked.

"Hehe, I figured it'd be best to get that out of the way now. Besides, don't you learn a lot about someone by their house? And I know..." Kale shifted his gaze to Kagami, grinning, "That some of you are just dying to come over."

"Like I said, get over yourself." Kagami sighed.

"Well, I'll go." Miyuki confirmed, "You live alone, so you don't need permission to have company over, correct?"

"Yup!" Kale nodded, happy that he had at least two of the girls coming, as he knew Konata would come over regardless of the invitation. He turned back to the twins, "So, Kaa-chan? Tsu-san? Mijikai and Yuki are coming."

"Well, I guess if Miyuki is going, we have no excuse not to..." Kagami answered, sounding a bit uncertain.

"I-I'll go if Onee-chan goes." Tsukasa said, smiling brightly.

Kale smiled, "Hehe, great. Then we'll go after school."

----------------

Even though they had made plans, the school day didn't move forward at a quicker place. Eventually Kagami had to leave to join her classmates, leaving the group of now 4 to await their next class. As usual, both Kale and Konata fell victim of Kuroi-sensei's fists, Kale suffering more due to his seeming inability to keep his eyes open for more than a few seconds. Oddly enough, Miyuki even fell asleep, though Kuroi let her get off easy due to it being her first time, and merely shook her awake.

Though, school eventually ended, as it always did, and the group of five made their way to today's destination, keeping themselves occupied with idle chit-chat, though Konata fell asleep against Kale yet again, leaving both him and Kagami to wonder why that kept happening. The train ride was seemingly quicker than normal, and the five found themselves arriving at Kale's house quicker than they would have arrived at Konata's...

"Wow, you live across from Kona-chan?" Tsukasa commented, looking across the street to the Izumi residence, making note of the fact that the two houses looked almost exactly alike.

"Oh, yes, he said that when we first met him, but you weren't there that day." Miyuki explained for Kale, who was busy digging through the group of keys on his keychain. She studied the house a bit, before turning to Kale, "My, this house is decieving. I wouldn't have guessed you were rich, if I knew you lived here."

"Actually, yeah, that is odd." Kagami replied, finally coming to realize something quite obvious. She turned to Kale, who had yet to locate the key, "You said your mom lives in a big mansion, and you only live here? You even said that you make more money than she does."

As she spoke, Kale finally loacted key, and wasted no time in sticking it into the lock and turning it to the side, though he answered Kagami's question while he did, "Mhm, I know. I just don't want to be like one of those spoiled little brats, so I try not to spend that much." He explained, slowly pushing the door open, "Besides, I really hate all of that fancy stuff. My mom's place is so... Suffocating."

"Well, it's good to know you have some depth like that." Kagami responded, smiling.

"But Kale is very generous with his friends." Konata piped in, putting her hand on his shoulder and smiling brightly, "He's spent more on me than himself a lot of times."

"I can't say I'm glad that he supports your obsession, Konata..." Kagami said, with a sigh.

"Are you ladies ever going to go inside?" Kale cut in, stopping Konata short of her comeback and saving Kagami the need to reply to said comeback.

"I believe we were waiting for you." Miyuki explained, looking at Kale questioningly, "Doesn't the host enter first?"

"Isn't it a rule that the man lets the ladies enter first?" Kale countered, "Isn't it 'Ladies first'?"

"Oh, Kale, since when were you ever a gentleman?" Konata teased, poking him playfully.

"Oh, ha ha..." Kale responded flatly, trying his best to fend off her assault with his arm. As the two playfully fought, the other three girls entered the house, and a moment later Kale's glare withered Konata down, and she followed.

"Wow, you take really good care of your home." Miyuki complimented. From the door, they could easily see into the kitchen and living room, as well as down a hallway with several doors on it. The layout was much different from Konata's home, despite the similarities in appearance outside, though it seemed much easier to navigate than her home.

"Kale is very surprisingly diligent with housekeeping." Konata explained, giving him a teasing glance, "He'll even yell at you if you're not careful."

"Well, that really is a surprise." Kagami noted, looking back at the two short friends with a seemingly condescending glare, "If only he'd be diligent on other things..."

"Mmm... Things like you?" Kale responded, giving Kagami a once-over and a nod.

"What!?" Kagami yelled in response, feeling herself blush slightly.

His comment had caused Miyuki to giggle lightly, placing her hand on Kagami's shoulder to calm her down, "He's just kidding, Kagami."

"Heeheeee, at least Miyuki can get my joking." Kale grinned, finally closing the door and walking a bit ahead of the girls before turning to face them, "Anyway, just control yourselves and don't make a big mess, alright? Because I gotta clean it all up."

"So what do you have planned?" Miyuki asked, giving Kale a curious smile, which caused Kale to notice that Miyuki smiles a _lot_.

He waved his arm at her, dismissively, "Oh, Yuki-san. This was spur-of-the-moment, I don't have plans."

"Then what are we supposed to do here?" Kagami asked, matter-of-factly.

"Oh, come now!" Kale exclaimed, with a groan, "We're all teenagers, right? I don't have to plot out the evening for us, do I?"

"You do have an excellent point." Miyuki acknowledged, "I find it quite irritating when I go to a friend's house and I'm unable to just sit down and relax due to their over-planning."

"Hm... Don't you get to relax at home?" Kale asked.

"Yuki-san has a rather forgetful mother, so she spends a lot of time picking up after her and whatnot." Konata explained to Kale.

"As much as I hate to say it, it's true, my mother is quite forgetful." Miyuki admitted, blushing a bit in embarassment, "But she's still a very respectable woman."

"Hey, Kale, are we just going to stand around her all day?" Kagami asked in a rather annoyed tone.

"I-I could use a place to sit..." Tsukasa added.

"Mmm, fine. Come, come, to the living room." Kale responded, leading the girls to a rather large, wooden door, and slid the door open to reveal the living room. It was quite large, with a rather big couch that seemed too large for someone of Kale's size, with an equally large table a bit ahead of it. Across from the couch was an entertainment unit with a rather large televsion set on it - Though, it wasn't obnoxiously large.

Kagami was somewhat thrown off with the simplicity of the room, though sighed and shook her head when she saw the television, "So, you don't spend too much, eh?"

"Oh, come on! I need a television, don't I?" Kale countered, "Why would I willingly buy a subpar one? Besides, they sell much bigger models, and it's not like I got a plasmascreen out here. So judgemental, Ka-chaan."

"That's Kagamin for you." Konata piped in. Before Kagami could respond, Konata and Kale had already made it to the couch, though Kale refrained from sitting, which brought up some confusion. Once the girls had all sat down, however, they realized there would have been no room for him. Luckily, he was perfectly content with sitting on the floor, moreso after Konata slid down to the floor as well, as there was more space.

It was Miyuki who found the remote, much to the dismay of her friends, though they didn't say anything. As she searched the channels for something she thought they would all find interesting, she spoke to Kale, "So, Kale, you've known Kona-chan for years, correct?"

"Mm? Oh, yes, ever since we were babies." Kale clarified, "Why?"

"Oh? So you'd have a few childhood stories about dear 'Kona-chan', eh?" Kagami asked, giving Konata a rather mischevious glance.

"Uh-oh..." Konata mumbled under her breath.

"Heeheeee..." Kale chuckled, "Perhaps."

"Kale..." Konata hissed.

Ignoring her, Kale got up and turned to face the girls, "So, this on time, Mijikai and myself were on our way to school. This was back when we were 'normal' height, by the way. Anyay, out of nowhere she-" Though, before he could go on, he was cut off by Konata tackling him down. After a moment of struggling, in which Konata's learned fighting skill came in handy, the two sat up.

"You said you'd never tell that story, remember?" Konata said in a rather hurt tone, poking Kale's arm roughly.

"Ai, ai! Fine, fine! Sorry!" Kale cried in defeat, rubbing his head to see if any damage was caused. Upon inspecting his arm, he gasped, "You bit me!"

"You bit him?" Kagami questioned.

"Why not? He's good for you!" Konata declared, smiling brightly.

"E-Excuse me?" Kagami questioned, "What are you talking about?"

"I'm full of nutrients and vitamins! I'm a cabbage, after all." Kale explained, grinning victoriously.

"That's the first time I've heard someone taking their name so seriously." Miyuki commented, "I don't think you'd actually be good for someone just because you're named after a cabbage, Kale-san."

"Wait..." Tsukasa thought for a moment, "You're named after a cabbage?"

"Hehe, yeah..." Kale chuckled, rubbing the back of his head, "My dad named me, and from what I hear, he's pretty odd..."

"So that's where you get it from?" Konata teased.

"Mmm... I think it's time we changed subjects." Kale responded.

"Hm..." Konata thought for a moment, a subject she had thought about a lot lately coming to mind. She turned to face the others, "Is it just me, or does Kuroi-sensei seem lonely?"

"Lonely?" Tsukasa asked, needing clarification.

"I don't think she has a boyfriend..." Miyuki responded.

"Then again, none of us have anyone like that, and we get by." Kagami said, seemingly dismissing the observation.

"Hoho! It seems Kuroi-sensei just needs some love in her life!" Konata declared.

"Please tell me this isn't one of your missions now, Konata..." Kagami sighed.

"Then again, maybe she'll be happier with a boyfriend. It's not entirely unheard of." Miyuki said, somehow getting quite into the discussion.

"Don't you support her, Miyuki!" Kagami yelled, frustrated.

"Kale, what do you think?" Konata asked, looking to him.

"Kale's smart, even if he's odd..." Kagami said to herself, "I doubt he'll support thi-"

"Mmm..." Kale thought it over for a moment before smiling, "I agree."

"What!?" Kagami yelled, letting out a defeated sigh.

"Kuroi-sensei just needs a man in her life, that's all!" Kale explained, "I'm sure if we try, we can find the perfect man for her!"

"I wont have anything to do with this, this is bound to fail..." Kagami said.

"I-It does sound a bit strange..." Tsukasa said, agreeing with Kagami, "Students finding a date for their teacher..."

"As expected, Kagamin wont help her friends..." Konata commented, "But we don't need her, we can do this ourselves."

"Hehehe... Of course." Kale nodded in agreement, "This is gonna be interesting."

"I'll probably regret this, but... Who do you have in mind?" Kagami questioned.

"Hm... Kuroi-sensei would probably want a man who's straight to the point..." Konata thought aloud.

"She certainly seems like the type who would want someone who would stand up for themselves." Miyuki added, getting off the couch and sitting on the floor with her two partners, leaving Kagami to take the remote that she neglected to bring down with her and start flipping through channels.

"... Hehehe, just send me in now and save yourselves the trouble." Kale grinned.

"You're straightforward and you stand up for yourself, Kale?" Konata teased, poking him playfully.

"I'm straightforward!" He said in his own defense.

"More like anything but..." Kagami commented.

"I thought you were staying out of this, Ka-chaan!" Kale responded to her.

"Why can't I add something?!" Kagami yelled back.

"Well, if you're just going to put me down..." Kale sighed, his voice trailing.

Kagami sighed, "So little self-confidence."

"Hmph... It's my mother's fault..." Kale said, turning to face Kagami and holding his arms out in a hugging motion, "Hold and comfort me?"

"No." Kagami denied him, flatly.

"So heartless." Konata commented, "I can see your children growing up to be just like Kale."

"Hey!" Kale protested, "I'm loveably adorable, who wouldn't want kids _just_ like me?"

"Who said I'm having kids anyway?" Kagami asked, hoping to kill the budding topic right there.

"You mean you don't want to have kids, Kagamin?" Konata questioned, "That's odd. I thought you'd be the type to want kids."

"Well... I don't know!" Kagami groaned, shaking her head in annoyance, "I guess it depends on what kind of guy I end up with."

"I can picture myself with a child, it seems quite nice." Miyuki said, joining the conversation, "Especially if you raise a child who becomes rather successful in life."

"My mom was pretty messed up after giving birth to me." Konata said, hoping that that was enough to give her stance on the idea. While she wasn't bitter over her mother's death, nor was she afraid of giving birth, the idea was always in the back of her head.

"O-Oh... Yeah, I remember you mentioning that she was-" Tsukasa started to speak, though Kale cut her off.

"If I become something, would my mom accept me?" He said, somewhat awkwardly, as he made up the question as he spoke. He looked to Miyuki, hoping she follow his lead, as the topic of Konata's mother, while it never bothered Konata much, was a rather uncomfortable and touchy topic nonetheless. Making eye contact, he continued, "You did say that it's nice to raise a successful child, right?"

"I don't know, maybe she would." Miyuki answered, finding the question to be somewhat odd, "I don't know her, so I can't say for sure."

"You shouldn't worry so much about her, Kale." Konata said, ironically in an attempt to comfort him, "She doesn't want anything to do with you, and you can avoid her, so you should relax and enjoy life without her. Besides, isn't it great to live without parents bossing you around?"

"Mmm..." Kale looked away, blushing in embarassment, "I actually don't like being alone, it's a little issue I have..."

"Oh ho!" Konata cried out, as if in victory, "So Kale isn't as fearless as he wants us to think, it seems!"

"That's actually surprising." Kagami added, "I can't picture you as the paranoid type."

"It's not that I get paranoid when I'm alone, it's the loneliness itself." Kale shrugged, giving them an awkward smile, "I'm a sentimental guy, what can I say?"

"Don't worry, Kale, I'll always be there for ya." Konata smiled, scooting over to Kale and leaning against him.

"Hehehe, haven't we always been there for each other?" Kale chuckled, blushing due to the contact.

_I don't know if I should be jealous or disgusted..._, Kagami thought, watching the two.


	7. Chapter 7

And this is quite possibly the single longest thing I have ever written in my entire life. Ever. Let me just say in advance that I apologize for the length.

It's looking like Chapter 8 will be relatively short, if it goes as I planned, so that makes up for this.

As for the last part that isn't the Lucky Channel... You had to have seen it coming.

Also, I'm trying to kick up my references, to stay true to the series...

-------

Yet again it was lunchtime for the high schoolers, who had all formed into their usual groups. Today was an odd one for Konata, who pulled out a rather peculiar item from her lunch bag - A melon bread. Tearing open the pack and pulling the item free, she looked it over, "Hm... It isn't a cornet, but it'll do."

_Hehe... As a Shana fan, seeing Konata eat melon bread is like a fanboy-dream come true..._ Kale thought, looking at Konata, who was sitting next to him, out of the corner of his eye as he ripped open the packet to his own melon bread.

"Oh, you don't have a chocolate cornet today, Kona-chan?" Miyuki asked as she produced her own rather expensive-looking lunch.

"What happened? Aren't you in love with those things?" Kagami added, preparing to dig into the bento Tsukasa had prepared for the two of them earlier.

"Aii, it's the oddest thing..." Konata spoke in a rather confused and somewhat distressed tone, "This morning when I woke up, there weren't any to be found in the house... So I had to get this from Kale."

"He was awake at that time?" Kagami responded, sounding rather surprised, "That's odd."

"Hmph, Mijikai-chan woke me up..." Kale spoke in a rather hurt tone, as sleeping was as close to a sacred act as one could think of for him. He felt himself bush slightly as he took a bite out of his lunch, _But she's tickling my inner fanboy, so I can let it slide..._

"Oh, then Kona-chan has a key to your place, right?" Miyuki commented, giving Kale a curious glance before returning to her lunch.

"I wouldn't be surprised." Kagami added, giving her two short friends a sharp glare.

"Mm? Of course she does." Kale answered, returning Miyuki's curious look, "Why?"

Miyuki smiled, as if it were nothing, "Well, if you were asleep, then how would she get inside?"

"Hm... Good point." Kale conceded.

"Yuki-san is pretty good at things like that." Konata commented as she ate, "Shows how smart she is, none of us would have picked up on that." "O-Oh, no..." Miyuki smiled nervously, a faint blush evident, "It's nothing..."

_Cute how she's so modest... Hm... _Kale thought, taking another bite out of his lunch, _Odd... Miyuki-san is a cute, intelligent, wealthy young lady with a fun personality, why don't I notice her more than I do? Hehe... I guess Mijikai-chan and Ka-chaan take up a good deal of my attention already..._

"Hey, I just noticed..." Kagami spoke up, pointing towards Kale, "Why do you have a lunch today?"

"Mm? Well, I had no excuse, since Mijikai-chan woke me up earlier than I'm used to..." Kale answered, enjoying another mouthful of his lunch afterwards.

"It's not that hard to grab a baggy on your way out the door, you know..." Kagami spoke condescendingly.

"Silly Ka-chaan, it is when you're lazy." Kale pointed out.

Kagami sighed at the predictable answer, "I should have expected as much..."

_Hm... And Ka-chaan is fun, too. Tsunderes usually are... _Kale thought to himself. As he took another bite, he glanced over her, _Hehe... And she has a certain... Physical appeal, too._

"Odd. Aren't you used to him by now, Kagamin?" Konata questioned.

"W-What do you mean?" Kagami asked.

"Well, doesn't he always talk about how lazy he is? And I always say it's true." Konata clarified, pointing at Kagami, "One would think you'd believe us."

"W-Well, maybe I just can't accept that someone can be that lazy!" Kagami hissed in response.

"Silly Kagamin, we can all see that you just don't want your crush to be lazy." Konata teased, "A hard working girl like you, it wouldn't be fitting..."

"EH!?" Kagami gasped, blushing, "Crush!?"  
_  
Mijikai-chan is the queen of fun personalities, it seems. How boring would my childhood have been without her? Hehehe... And she's almost as tall as me, that's a plus... Oh! And she resembles a character from one of my favorite series_, Kale went on with his train of thought, continuing to eat.

"Y-You like Kale?" Tsukasa questioned, giving her sister an odd look - Obviously, she was confused and thrown off by Konata's claim.

"No! I wouldn't like that perverted slacker!" Kagami declared, hoping to have cleared up the issue, "Besides, I don't crush on short guys."

"What do you have against short people, Kagamin?" Konata asked, sounding rather hurt.

"Ngh, way to hit where it hurts, Ka-chaan..." Kale sighed.

"Well, i-it's just that I always imagined being swept off my feet by a tall, handsome man..." Kagami stammered, feeling herself blush again.

"Mm!? Now it's also how I look?" Kale questioned, turning in his seat to face Kagami directly.

"N-No, it's just- Wait!" Kagami looked Kale right in the eyes, "Why do you care so much?"

"Hmph... Who said I care?" Kale countered, blushing and looking away from the others, _Why would I care, anyway? Mmgh..._

Feeling a bit defensive over the recent conversation, as well as Kale's response, Konata quickly wrapped her arms around his neck and pulled him into a hug, pressing her face against his, "Of course he doesn't care! Kale's mine and he knows it!"

"Ai!" Kale cried in surprise, feeling himself blush rather deeply, "Y-Yours?"

"Of course, I saw you first, so I get first dibs." Konata replied, never letting go, though the tone in her voice made it sound as if she were kidding.

"I d-didn't know I was claimed..." Kale responded, in his own joking tone, somewhat relieved now that it sounded like he was joking - Though a part of him felt a bit let down.

"Oy, Konata, you can't just 'call' him like that. He has a say in it, too, you know." Kagami spoke up for Kale, obviously missing the mischevious tone and what it implied.

"Hehehe, I don't see him contesting." Konata replied, hugging Kale tighter.

_Ai, then again... Sometimes Mijikai-chan is a bit __**too**__ playful..._

-------

The end of lunch came not long after the end of the conversation, giving the now-confused Kale to contemplate what his next course of action with the group of ladies should be. However, the end of classes for the day came all too soon, and he was unable to come to a decision. Now more concerned with what he would do to occupy himself for the rest of the day, he slowly walked through the halls of the school, accompanied by Miyuki.

_Hmm... What to do... Ka-chaan and Tsu-san have things to do after school, Mijikai-chan has work... I guess it's just me and Yuki-san_, He thought to himself, trying to think of things to do. Miyuki was anything but boring to him, in fact he rather enjoyed her company, and could relate to her the most, although it was hard to come up with things to do that they could both enjoy.

"Oh, look! It's Kale-san and Miyuki-san!" Someone said from down the hall, proceeding to call them, "Miyuki-san! Kale-saaaan!!"

"Kale-san, Yutaka-chan is calling us." Miyuki pointed out, smiling and waving in response to Yutaka.

"Mhm, I hear her." Kale confirmed, continuing to walk at his lazy pace, with Miyuki following, finally stopping when they had made it across the hall and to Yutaka, "Konnichi wa Hiyowai-chan."

"How are you doing today, Yutaka-san?" Miyuki asked, giving Yutaka a bright smile.

"Oh, I'm fine. I haven't been sick in a while." Yutaka happily answered, "Hey, we're going to visit Onee-chan and Patty-chan at work, do you want to come?"

"Mm..." Kale gave it some thought, _Hmm... Patricia-san and Mijikai-chan dressed up and serving me?_

"I have no objections, what about you, Kale?" Miyuki responded cheerily.

"Hehehe... Lets get going." Kale answered, attempting to fight off the images that were flooding his mind.

"Come on, then." Yutaka said, quickly leaving the school, with Kale and Miyuki in tow. Right outside were Hiyori and Minami, who were waiting for Yutaka.

"Oh! Doujin-chan, Minami-san, it's been a while." Kale greeted, his focus staying on Hiyori, though his near-shut eyes didn't betray him.

Hiyori smiled and waved to them, "H-Hello, Kale-kun." She said in response, though she thought, _Did he just call me 'Doujin-chan'...? Gngh, is that my name now!?_

"Hello... Kale-kun... Miyuki-san..." Minami greeted in her usual depressed tone, giving the two a cold look.

"Oh, hello Minami, Hiyori." Miyuki responded, smiling.

_Hm... Is it just me, or does everyone refer to Miyuki with "-san"? Odd... Though, it's not really hard to respect her_, Kale thought to himself.

"Well... Lets get going, then! They're expecting us." Yutaka said, and began to lead the group towards the train station, with Minami walking beside her.

Falling a bit behind, Kale walked with Hiyori and Miyuki on either side, "So, what's the theme for the week there?"

"Hm?" Miyuki gave him a curious look, "What do you mean?"

"It's a cosplay cafe, where they dress up like characters from anime and manga, though mostly animes. Series without an anime are usually ignored by the cafes... Anyway, since it would be boring for them to always dress up with the same theme each weak, they circulate." Hiyori explained.

"Oh, of course. I see. So, do you know the theme for this week?" Miyuki asked Hiyori.

"Ngh... No! They wont tell us. They said it has to be a surprise, or it isn't as good!" Hiyori groaned, "All they said is that Kale would be sorry if he missed it!"

"Mm? Hm..." Kale considered that, mentally running down a list of his favorites series. Suddenly, a mental image of Patricia, wearing nothing more than skimpy, black shorts and a revealing, black-bra with a fire design on it flashed through his head, _... Want._

Giggling at his reaction, as he had a rather awe-filled expression, Hiyori couldn't help but comment, "It seems that got you interested..."

"He must of thought of a really good outfit for Konata..." Miyuki commented, as she didn't know Kale had met Patricia already, nor was she able to notice the physical attraction men would have for Patricia - Or, she didn't let herself see it.

Blushing, Kale shifted his gaze to the floor, as he had nowhere to look to hide the blush, "I can't help it! I'm a guy..."

"Don't worry too much about it, my trips there have inspired me from time to time..." Hiyori said, smiling a bit nervously.

"Oi, now I _really_ can't wait to get there..." Kale sighed.

--

"Oi, so many stairs..." Kale groaned in despair, looking up the first flight of stairs that would bring him to the cosplay cafe. The others had already made the journey up, but the mere sight of the stairs had drained Kale of all his energy - The curse of being lazy.

"Are you... Going to be okay?" Hiyori asked nervously. Since Kale hadn't spent that much time with her and her group, she hadn't seen the extreme side of his laziness, so this was new to her.

"Don't worry, Kale-san acts like this from time to time, but he'll make it." Miyuki said, answering the question for Kale. She seemed to be perfectly content waiting for him to muster up the energy to begin his ascent, which showed how used she had grown to him.

"Ngh..." Kale sighed, his head hanging.

"A-Are you sure, Miyuki?" Yutaka asked. She, too, was used to Kale's laziness, as Kale spent most of his free time visiting them, but she had never seen him tackle a staircase.

"M-Maybe one of us should go down there and help him...?" Hiyori offered.

"No, I can do this..." Kale responded, slowly bringing himself to walk up the stairs, with a single though enpowering him; _Mijikai-chan... Patricia-san... Cosplay... Must... See..._

Miyuki gave Hiyori a bright smile, "There we go, I knew he'd make it. Now, let's go get seats." She said, turning and walking up the much smaller second flight of stairs, with Yutaka and Minami following, though Hiyori stayed to make sure Kale survived.

"Hey, you made it." Hiyori congratulated, smiling brightly, when he finally made it up - It hadn't taken him very long, though the others had already made it inside.

"Eh... I'm too lazy for this." Kale sighed, then gasped as he noticed the second set of stairs, "Oh no!"

Hiyori couldn't help but giggle at his reaction, but felt a sudden urgency, as a long wait could possibly offend Konata and Patricia. Grabbing his hand, she began to drag him as she rushed up the stairs, "Come on, they're waiting!"

"D-Doujin-chan, what are you-!" Kale managed to squeek out before Hiyori raced off, though he was, as usual, blushing from contact.

_Why did I just grab his hand, anyway? I could have grabbed his arm... I've never held someone's hand befo-_, Hiyori's train of thought was cut off as her stab of unluckiness kicked in, and she misjudged the last step, causing her to trip over it. As usual, her artist-defense-mechanism sprung into action, bringing her to spin as she fell, so she would land on her back instead of risking injury to her arm, or breaking her glasses.

However, her spin brought her to face Kale, who was still holding her hand - Despite his lazy, drained state, he found it in him to give a powerful tug and pull her towards him, saving her from the fall, although it brought her close enough that she was pressed up against him, which caused them both to blush again.

"T-Thanks..." She stammered, relieved that she was saved from the floor, and not really taking the closeness into consideration.

"Hehe, you're just lucky I can be fast when I have to be." He responded - Unlike Hiyori, he took note of the fact that they were practically hugging, but he was more focused on something else entirely; _Mmm...? She's only an inch or two taller than me..._

"Looks like it..." She said, chuckling. Finally noticing how close they were, she slowly stepped back, looking towards the door to the cosplay cafe, "We'd better hurry in..."

"Hehe... Before Mijikai-chan and Patricia-san get offended." Kale commented with a nod, leading the way.

--

"You two sure took a while." Miyuki commented as Kale and Hiyori, who had just made it to the table, sat down.

"S-Sorry..." Was all Hiyori could say, though she blushed as she thought about what had happened.

"Hehe..." Kale chuckled. He had already realized they'd need an excuse, and he had no reason to lie, so he merely told them what had happened, "Doujin-chan tripped."

"Oh... You're really unlucky at times, Hiyori." Yutaka commented, giving her friend a worried look, though Hiyori didn't seem to pleased to hear it.

"Gngh..." She groaned, laying her head on the table, "Don't remind me..."

"Are you okay, Hiyori?" Miyuki asked. Even though Hiyori looked and was acting fine, Miyuki felt compelled to ask.

"Y-Yeah, I'm fine." Hiyori answered, giving Miyuki a smile in an attempt to make it sound more belieavable - She really was fine, but she wasn't always good at getting things across.

"Oh! You're all here!" A voice said from behind Kale, speaking in a rather happy tone. Everyone turned to face the person, who happened to be Patricia, who was dressed in a blue business outfit, complete with a long skirt and rectangular-rimmed glasses, as well as high heels. Over her left shoulder was a thick, black strap that held a large, heavy-looking, green-covered book - And to fit with the character, her hair was given extensions, bringing it to a Konata-length. She gave Kale a bright smile, seemingly pleased to see him, "Oh, and you even brought Shota-kun!"

"_Shota_-kun...?" Kale questioned, too busy concerning himself with the nickname to take note of the outfit.

"I guess it fits..." Hiyori said, giving him a nervous smile - She wouldn't tell him, but she was the one that gave Patricia the idea for that nickname. Deciding to make it sound less demeaning, she quickly added, "At least... Only a little."

Kale laid his head on the table with a sigh, then broke into a chuckle, "Yeah, I guess..."

"So, what will you guys be ordering?" Patricia asked.

"Don't bother." Konata said from behind Patricia, speaking in a rather direct tone. While she never approached them, it was easy to see her, as she was only a few feet away - She was in what appeared to be the outfit from their school, although instead of pink and white it was a dark shade of green, and seemingly made of a thicker, more comfortable fabric, and over that she wore a black trenchcoat, which went better with her hair and eyes, which were both a shade of red, most likely due to hair-dye and contacts. Looking over them, she went on, "They'll have what I bring them."

"Hmm...?" Kale mumbled, lifting his head from the table and looking at Konata. It took less than a second for it to register, and he found himself grinning, "... Hehe... Mijikai-chan is aware that I love her right now, right?"

Konata gave Kale nothing more than a glance before walking off, trying her best to stay in-character. Patricia followed suite, as Konata had already taken it upon herself to watch over the table. Once they were gone, Miyuki tapped Kale's shoulder to get his attention, "Kale... Who's Konata cosplaying as?" "Mm? Isn't it obvious?" Kale responded, momentarily forgetting that Miyuki wasn't a big otaku like Hiyori, Patricia, Konata, or himself, "Red hair, red eyes, the uniform..."

"I can't guess it, either." Yutaka admitted, blushing in embarrassment, "Can you tell us?"

"Konata's Shana." Hiyori answered for Kale, turning to give Konata, who was dealing with another table, a second look, "She's a real good one, too."

"Hehehe, I wasn't the only one that noticed the resemblance, was I?" Kale grinned, pleased to find that he wasn't alone in his observation over Konata's Shana-resemblance.

"It's a lot easier to see now that she's all dressed up, but I sort of noticed." Hiyori said, turning attention to Kale, "So, you're a fan of the series?"

"Mmm... A bit. I'll say that I'm more a fan of Shana and Alastor than I am of the entire series." Kale explained, "But that doesn't mean I still don't enjoy the series. Of all the series I follow, it's one of my favorites."

"Oh, so are you shipping a couple?" Hiyori asked, smiling.

"Shipping?" Miyuki questioned.

"Oh, Yuki-san. You need to open up and embrace your inner otaku." Kale said, poking Miyuki playfully, laughing at her attempts to swat away his hands. A moment after the little game started, it ended, leaving Kale to answer her question, "Anyway... 'Shipping' is when you support a couple, any two specific people..."

"Oh, of course. I see." Miyuki nodded, grateful for the clarification.

"As for the question, Doujin-chan..." Kale turned to face Hiyori, "No, I don't, not really..."

"That's odd... Isn't it a romance series?" Hiyori asked, "Aren't you obligated to ship a couple?"

"Hehe... Nobody is worthy of my Shana-chan." Kale stated, "It's as simple as that."

"Of course, a fan to the very end..." Hiyori sighed, though found herself chuckling a bit at the predicatable answer.

-----

While Kale and Hiyori were able to enjoy the trip to the cafe, the whole thing was no more than as close to an ordeal as you can get for the other three, who weren't near the levels of otaku-ness needed to enjoy a cosplay cafe. The ever-clueless Yutaka was unable to appreciate it, while the ever-depressed Minami was too busy taking note of Patricia to enjoy it, and Miyuki was not the type to have very much fun in a place like that. Due to that they left sooner than the two otaku's had hoped, though they quickly got over it and enjoyed the train-ride, although Kale, who had things to discuss with Miyuki, had to leave with the others at the stop closest to the Takara and Iwasaki residence. As usual, the walk wasn't a quiet one, though this time it was Miyuki who happened to spark the conversation...

"So, Kale-san... You and Hiyori seemed to get along pretty well." Miyuki said, giving Kale one of her trademark smiles. Though, she was more confused as to her short friend's thinking, currently...

"Hmm..." Kale mumbled, giving it some thought, "... What can I say? I get along with people easily."

"I've never seen Hiyori smile so much..." Yutaka commented.

"Hiyori did seem rather... Happy..." Minami added, sounding rather upset.

Kale couldn't help but blush, though he decided to ignore it, "Like I said, I get along with people..." He answered, looking Yutaka and Minami, "Why are you all so interested in this, anyway? I get along with Mijikai-chan, too."

"But haven't you known Onee-chan for years?" Yutaka asked, smiling innocently as she pointed out the obvious.

"Mm?" Kale mumbled, "What's your point?"

"N-Nothing..." Yutaka looked down, blushing nervously, "It's good to know Onee-chan can have such a close friend in a boy, it makes me hopeful..."

"Eh? But you're not that much like Mijikai-chan." Kale said, a bit confused, "You're you, how can Mijikai-chan's actions and successes apply to you?"

"I-I mean..." Yutaka stammered, blushing, "That a guy would want to become so close to her, considering her height and lack of d-d-development..."

Minami sighed, tilting her head down, with a rather downcast expression, "I, too... Am happy for Izumi-san..."

"Eh? That's it...?" Kale asked, sighing, "Listen you two, that's nothing! Being short and lacking a chest? Not as important as you'd think."

That statement caused Yutaka's eyes to light up with hope, and she looked to Kale with a smile, "Oh? Really!?"

Kale picked up the pace, walking a bit ahead of them, before turning to face them as he walked backwards, pointing to himself with his thumb, "Yeah! Look at me! I'm a short guy, and I've got plenty of female friends, right? So it would work the other way around, too!"

"But... That doesn't explain how..." Minami's voice trailed off, as she pat her chest with a sigh.

"Poor Minami-san..." Yutaka murmured.

"Mm? Hey, Like I said, that's not everything!" Kale spoke up, trying his best to lighten Minami's mood, "Listen, if there are guys out there who are Lolicons, then that proves that not everyone is looking for development, right? Not all the guys are the same! We're not all into boobs!"

"R-Really?" Minami asked, giving Kale the same look Yutaka did earlier.

"Well, yeah!" Kale assured her, "Look at me, for instance. I'm close with you two, and Mijikai-chan, right?"

"W-Well... True..." Yutaka admitted.

"I-I guess..." Minami sighed.

_Yeesh, there's no cheering her up, is there?_ Kale thought, looking to Miyuki desperately, "Yuki-saaan..."

"Oh, no, you're doing fine, Kale-san." Miyuki giggled, amused at his attempts to keep the conversation off of himself, "Keep going."

"Ai, Yuki-san..." Kale sighed.

"I-I guess you're right." Yutaka smiled, "You're really smart about these kind of things."

"Of course! Would your Onii-tama be anything other than informed?" Kale declared, smiling proudly.

"Onii...-tama?" Yutaka questioned.

"You call Mijikai-chan 'Onee-chan', right? Hehe, well Sojiro-san always says I'm like the son he never had!" Kale answered, _But I think he was just pointing out my similarities with Mijikai-chan..._

"I think she was questioning the 'tama' honorific..." Miyuki pointed out.

"Oh, that!" Kale chuckled, "I just like the way it sounds..."

"Definitely sounds like something you'd come up with..." Miyuki admitted, smiling.

"Hehe, so from now on, I'll be your Onii-tama! I have to watch out for the younger Izumi relatives, anyway." Kale declared, grinning proudly, though as he backpedaled the inevitable happened - He tripped over something, which he couldn't see due to his walking backwards, causing him to land flat on his back.

"O-Okay, but... Could you watch out for yourself, too?" Yutaka asked, sounding a bit worried as she leaned over Kale to make sure he was alright, "... Just a bit?"

"Are you okay?" Miyuki asked, a bit behind Yutaka, though Kale could distinctly make out her giggling.

Kale sighed, but couldn't help but smile in amusement, "Just my luck, eh?"

---

Eventually Miyuki and Kale parted ways with Yutaka and Minami, as they were headed to seperate houses. It was a silent walk through there for Kale and Miyuki, Miyuki generally being the quiet type and Kale busy trying to think of how to word his problem. Before he knew it, he was sitting in the Takara living room, on a rather comfortable couch.

"So, Kale-san, you wanted to speak to me about something?" Miyuki questioned, giving him a curious look.

"Mm..." Kale sighed, "I did say that, huh?"

Miyuki nodded, smiling, "I'll help in any way I can."

"Well... You're a woman, and the only one I trust to give an unbiased opinion, so..." Kale's voice trailed on as he hesitated.

"Kale-san...?" Miyuki pushed, placing her hand on his shoulder.

"Yuki-san, I'm... Torn." Kale sighed, shoulders sagging, "Between Mijikai-chan, Ka-chaan..."

"Oh, yes." Miyuki nodded, "I've noticed."

Giving her a curious glance, Kale sighed, "You did, huh?"

Miyuki nodded, pushing up her glasses a bit before explaining, "Well, at first I thought you were just that close to Kona-chan, since you were longtime friends. However, I saw you growing closer with Kagami, and I noticed that you act the same to both of them, at times. Though, you seem to be a bit less... Vocal with Kona-chan."

"Well..." Kale's voice drifted, and he blushed, "Mijikai-chan gets physical, aaannnd..."

Miyuki couldn't help but giggle, "And you're shy."

Kale felt his blush deepen, and he looked away from her, "She knows that, too."

"I noticed." Miyuki nodded, "But, what of Hiyori?"

"Mm?" Kale asked, "Hiyori-chan?"

"Well, I could swear I saw something between the two of you." Miyuki explained, "You two were getting along really well, and you couldn't keep your eyes off of her."

"Hey, hey! I was watching Mijikai-chan, too!" Kale said defensively, though he was blushing again.

"She was dressed as that Shana character, though. And she's one of the girls you're torn between." Miyuki said, "But, even so, Hiyori-chan had your attention the most."

"I, well, I- Uh..." Kale stammered, trying to find a way to explain it, "I-I guess you're right... Maybe I _do_ like her."

"If I may, she seems... Perfect for you." Miyuki commented.

Kale blinked, a bit confused at her choice of words, "Mm? Perfect? What do you mean?"

"Oh, nothing, just something to keep in mind." Miyuki said, with a smile.

_Perfect...? Gah! Change of subject! _Kale thought, quickly coming up with something, "Hm..." He slowly turned and looked at Miyuki.

"Yes?" Miyuki responded.

Kale grinned his typical grin, bringing Miyuki into a tight hug, "Hehe, maybe I should just settling for my Yuki-saaaan..."

"Ah!" Miyuki cried out, giggling and playfully hitting his back, "Get off, get off! I'm not a part of this!"

"Aw..." Kale huffed. Letting her go, he gave her a reassuring smile, "Hehe... Don't orry, Yuki-san, I don't see you in that way."

"Oh?" Miyuki questioned.

"Hehe, nah... You're more like that knowledgable sister, you know?" Kale explained, "Not really older, not really younger. Just a sister. Closer than everyone else, but... You get it?"

Miyuki nodded, smiling, "I see. I guess I can see you as a little brother..." She said with a giggle, patting his head.

Kale couldn't help but sigh, "Oi... Even Yuki-san has made a height joke now..."

In the midst of their conversation, a third person walked into the room - She was slightly taller than Miyuki, though she had much shorter hair, and wasn't wearing glasses, and looked rather tired, "Yuki-chaaan, is that yo-" She stopped as soon as her eyes came upon Kale, "Oh! Who's this?"

"This is Kale, from my class." Miyuki answered her mother with a smile, "I've told you about him."

"Oh, so this is Kale?" Yukari responded, giggling, "He's taller than you said."

"Hey! Wait... What did she say about my height?" Kale questioned, though as soon as he did something clicked in his head, and he slowly turned to face Miyuki with a sly look, "Waaaiiit, what did she say about _me_?"

"Oh, nothing worth mentioning..." Yukari spoke in a singsong tone, grinning.

"Oh stop, Mother." Miyuki sighed - She was used to her mother's playfullness, but Kale wasn't the one she should act like that towards, especially with his track record with women, "I didn't say anything like that."

"Wait... _Mother_? This is your _mom_!?" Kale said, with a gasp. He jumped out of his seat and walked up to her, bowing respectfully, "But... I thought you two were _sisters_!"

Yukari couldn't help but giggle at the admission, as many people had confused their relationship before and it had become comical - To her, at least. She smiled at him, then looked to Miyuki, "I like him, Yuki-chan, you should bring him over more often."

Miyuki shook her head, sighing - Sometimes her mother's friendliness was a bit much. She looked to Kale, "Kale-san, if you want we can take this conversation somewhere els- Kale-san?"

"She's so... Cuddly and _awesome_!" Kale declared, hugging Yukari tightly, "I like her!"

The scene only made Miyuki sigh, "Oh, Kale-san..."

------

Kaito: Lucky Channelru!

-Cue card falls, and Kaito flashes peace sign at the camera-

Kaito: Oha-Lucky!

-Kale, as usual, is asleep. Irritated, Kaito grabs his hair and picks his head up-

Kaito: Oy, stay up for once.

Kale: Gyah! Ai, ai, I'm up...

Kaito: Hey there viewers! We've hit our sixth Lucky Channel with rising success. With your hosts, Yasuhiro Kaito...

Kale: And Kazehana Kale Hehe... I like today.

Kaito: And who wouldn't? Today's our third section of character introductions. And since we've past those two bumps, we can get on to some real characters. Kale-san, who's today's lucky person?

-Kale reaches under the desk and pulls out a large picture of Hiyori.-

Kale: Hehe, today will revolve around Tamura Hiyori-chaan...

Kaito: Or as you call her, Doujin-chan.

Kale: Ah, not anymore, Kaito-san. She's much more than just a mangaka, after all. But it was a fitting name, yes... After all, her doujins are _awesome_.

Kaito: Ah yes, they are. -Under breath- Needs better models, though...

Kale: -Pokes Kaito- Lets not get into that again. Hehe... She does draw inspiration from other girls, though.

Kaito: Don't worry, don't worry. Hiyori's a pretty good character all around. Popular too. I think we're personally doing a service, since she didn't get a proper introduction to the show.

Kale: Hehe... Hiyori's one of my favorites. She's pretty, smart, can draw, is an otaku, and like with Miyuki, she has those glasses... Oh! And she's around me height, too!

Kaito: She's also quite sweet and socialable.

Kale: But a bit unlucky...

Kaito: Poor thing. But, with her unluckiness you might be able to get closer to her

Kale: -Blushes- Hey, hey, what makes you think I'm interested like that?

Kaito: Well, you've been hanging around with them more than me and they're all so great. You have a great friendship with them. In a sense, I envy you, since you have such a broad selection to go with.

Kale: Uh... Selection?

Kaito: Well, you have a few girls to go with. You are a good, long time friend of Kona-chan. Kagami can put up with you and still find you positive. And for a Tsundere, that's an amazing step. Miyuki seems to have an interest in you since you're both so polite. And you and Hiyori have a large amount of similarities...

Kale: Hiyori-chan? Similarities?

Kaito: Otaku. Naughty thoughts. Near height. Not to mention you both seem a bit self-conscious. Now if you find a woman with that amount of matching interest and personality, you really don't want to leave that, do you?

Kale: Hm... Good point... Hehe, Hiyori-chan seems a lot more interesting now.

Kaito: But I'll leave the decision making to you.

Kale: -Blushes- W-We're kind of straying off topic.

Kaito: Okay, then... Should we focus more on Hiyori?

Kale: Hmm... It's our job to, after all.

Kaito: Well we've kind of described her and thensome, so you think of something.

Kale: I'm better with action and wit than conversation, Kaito-san...

Kaito: Hmmm... -Looks over the card- Do you think glasses make girls look cuter? Usually girls who are smart and creative look really cute with them, but this seems to appeal with most girls considering Yui-san.

Kale: Mmm... Well, to me, Hiyori-chan is cuter with them, like Yuki-san. Yui-san... I don't notice them that much.

Kaito: When I think about it, it's harder for me to imagine them off of her. They just seem to define a lot of her character. You know, we need more characters like Hiyori.

Kale; Hehehe, no... There can only be one Hiyori-chan!

Kaito: Man, after learning about this character I feel like I'm going to have to interact with her more. She spends plenty of time with Kona-chan after all...

Kale: Hey, hey... Slow down there...

Kaito: Any time with an otaku is a great time. Why do you want to stop that?

Kale: -Looks around nervously- Uuuhhhh...

-Ending fanfare plays-

Kale: Safe!

Kaito: Dang, this was fun... Well, be sure to contact both of us for information or any questions you would like to ask. Bye-ni!

Kale: -Waves to the screen, and the Ending Card drops- You know, I don't really have a lot of choices... It's pretty clear for me, at least.

Kaito: Whatever you say. But there could be more people on the way.

Kale: No, no, I have my mind set...

Kaito: Since you can pick... So many. You should let me have Kona-chan.

Kale: I'm sorry, Kaito-san, but I'm afraid we must engage in battle...

Kaito: You can pick someone else... Come on.

Kale: _You_ can pick someone else...

Kaito: Don't put me in your situation!

-TV cuts off-


	8. Chapter 8

Holy crap, how did I update so late? I guess I lost my will to write after 7. Forced too much, I'll say... This chapter isn't as good as it could be, and I honestly wish it was longer, but I felt the urge to update tonight.

------

It was the weekend now, luckily enough for Kale. Just yesterday was his deep talk with Miyuki over his 'situation', which had continued long after her mother had interrupted. Although he wasn't keen on the idea of letting another, besides Miyuki, in on his little dilemma, he had to admit that Yukari was quite... Wise on the subject.

_I guess being smart just runs in the family_, He thought to himself. The thought only lead to a sigh, though, _But both my parents are six feet tall, why am I this short? Ai..._

While she had offered a lot of insight on the problem, her daughter's advice seemed to be the most useful, as she had more knowledge on her friends than Yukari. While Yukari felt it would be more appropriate for him to try and develop a relationship with Konata, Miyuki seemed all-too convinced that Hiyori would be the better choice for him...

_She said... Hiyori-chan was perfect for me. What does she mean by 'Perfect', anyway? It's possible for someone to be 'Perfect' for another? Ai..._, Kale thought, groaning. He slowly made his way out of his room, and down the long hall leading to the kitchen. From there, he slid open the makeshift door leading to the living room. Clear across from him was the door leading to a set of smaller rooms, one of the doors of which was the entrance to the house - Though, he wasn't going there. Instead, he merely made his way to the couch and lazily dropped onto it, adjusting a bit to find a position where he could lay comfortably.

Times like these he wished what it would be like if he had stayed home with his mother, and only stayed in contact with Konata through the occasional phone conversation and the usual MMO meeting. He definately wouldn't have had to worry about any feelings for Konata, nor would he have met Kagami or Hiyori. Then again, he wouldn't know Kagami or Hiyori... And that would be a bad thing.

Of course, there were too many things going on at once. While he had feelings for Kagami, they weren't as strong as they were for Konata, and Miyuki made him realize that he had a rather deep interest in Hiyori as well. On top of that, he had to deal with school, as well as upholding a house by himself, while feeding his Otaku-urges - Being lazy wasn't as easy as many people though.

"Oi, right, need to call Mijikai-chan." He mumbled, pushing himself up to a sitting position and feeling around on the floor, "Mmgh, I know it's here somewhere..."

A moment after he started his search, a loud, obnoxious ring echoed through the room, and a light became visible on the table. With a groan, Kale leaned over and stretched his arm out, grabbing the phone. He pressed the 'answer' button and held the phone to his ear, suppressing a yawn, "Hello?"

"You were supposed to call fifteen minute ago." The voice on the other end stated, obviously Konata's. She didn't sound too irritated, though maybe it was because she didn't expect him to call on time anyway.

"Uh, heh-heh... Yeah, sorry, I couldn't find the phone." He explained, now reaching around the table in search of the remote for the television.

"Oh, Kale-sama, you're too loose with your things." Konata teased, "I think you're just spoiled."

"Oh, ouch, low blow..." Kale said rather dramatically, "I don't use the phone often, what do I need it for?"

"To talk to me, obviously." Konata answered, speaking in a coy tone, "What other reason do you need?"

"Hehe... Good point." Kale said, feeling his face warm from a blush. She had always been able to do that, she always knew just what to do or say to get the best reaction from him. However, he had learned, and knew he had to change the subject before he came to regret it, "Ah, so, um, what happened with you? Hiyowai-chan isn't sick again, is she?"

At that, Konata let out a content sigh, "Actually, Yu-chan's been fine. She hasn't gotten as sick here as she used to." She answered, sounding rather proud, "And you haven't been as lazy since you returned."

"Mmm... I suppose." Kale said, chuckling, "That's what happens when you have an excellent caretaker."

"Of course! I do my best to watch my Yu-chan and Kale-sama!" Konata declared.

"Oi, Mijikai-chan, please stop calling me 'Kale-sama'..." Kale said. He always felt uncomfortable whenever she called him that, since he felt friends shouldn't refer to each other with such honorifics.

"Then what should I call you? Kale-kun? Kyabetsu-kun? Yasai-kun? Nemui-kun?" Konata began listing off names.

_Oi, my name, cabbage, vegetable, drowsy..._, Kale followed her list, "Why don't you jus-"

"Ooh!" Konata exclaimed, "Suntarazu-kun!"

"Aren't I taller than you!?" Kale snapped, as he was defensive over his height, _'A little too short', what's that supposed to mean?!_

"Oh, stop complaining and pick." Konata replied, dismissing his complaints.

He couldn't help but sigh, "Why don't we just think on it a bit?"

-----

Konata and Kale didn't speak on the phone for long, as Kale was supposed to be at the Izumi residence a mere hour after the time of the arranged call. Since he lived alone, and wasn't much of a cook, meals for him were rather plain, unless delivered. The Izumi's were well aware of that, and Sojiro insisted that Kale come over nightly for dinner - Having played a part in raising him, he almost felt it was his duty to ensure he was well-fed. Konata wasn't very much against it, either - In fact, it was her idea to begin with, and she didn't mind setting up an extra serving.

Yutaka's ears perked, straining to catch the faint sound of what appeared to be knocking. The familiar sound was none other than Kale's typical, lazy attempts to knock on the front door. He hated to use the doorbell, stating that it simply made too much noise, which was against his 'style'. Moving as quickly as she could, Yutaka made it to the door and swung it open, greeting Kale with a smile, "Hello, Onii-tama."

"Hehe, hey Hiyowai-chan." Kale responded, with a slight nod.

"You're always a few minutes late, aren't you?" Yutaka questioned, smiling innocently still.

Kale couldn't help but chuckle nervously, rubbing the back of his head nervously, "Hehe, well... Your Onii-tama can't help if he's late, can he?"

"Of course he can, but he's too lazy to." Yutaka teased, though she stepped aside to let Kale enter.

Wasting no time, Kale quickly stepped inside, and Yutaka closed the door behind him. From there they went their separate ways, with Yutaka retreating to her room as Kale searched out Sojiro - Konata was busy cooking, of course, so the only one in the house he could talk to, besides Yutaka, was Sojiro. While he had nothing against talking to Yutaka, he found that Sojiro presented much more enjoyable discussions.

"Ai, Sojiro-sama." Kale spoke out as he walked into the living room, where Sojiro was comfortably watching what appeared to be a rerun of a mecha anime, though Kale's knowledge of the mecha genre beyond Gundam, Big O, and Gurren Lagann was limited and he was unable to provide a name.

Sojiro turned from the television to look at Kale, "Ah, Kale-kun, looks like you made it again. A bit late, but it's not like that's new, eh?"

"Hey, hey, it's not like I'm late for the meal or anything." Kale said, defensively - And it was true. Konata was cooking, or at least she normally was by now. He usually arrived a bit before that, to talk with Sojiro. Though, he technically was never _late_, since he always came before dinner. However, his talks with Sojiro seemed to have been added to his daily schedule, so one could say he actually _was_ late.

"Heh heh, good point..." Sojiro admitted. He then gave Kale a pointed look for a moment before going on, "Listen, Kale-kun, I have something very important to ask you..."

"Mm?" Kale mumbled in response, making his way to the extra chair resting in the room and taking a seat, "What is it?"

"Well, I was just wondering..." Sojiro sounded a bit uneasy, though Kale was used to this - He didn't expect much. It only took Sojiro a moment to muster up the courage, looking Kale eye-to-eye, "Kale-kun, have you chosen a wife yet?"

"W-What!?" Kale stammered out, obviously thrown off by the direct question. He suppressed a sigh, shaking his head, _Only Sojiro-sama can ask such a question..._

"I guess that's a no. A rich guy like you, you gotta hurry and stake your claim before some other guy runs in and beats you to it! Besides, you don't exactly have the height thing going for you, so you have to reel the loyal ones in fast and woo them with your money!" Sojiro declared, speaking as if he were bestowing sacred knowledge upon the short, confused teenager.

"B-But, Sojiro-s-sama, I-I..." Kale tried to form words - But would could he say? He didn't even know what he was attempting to communicate, but he knew he had to say something. Donning a nervous smile, he did his best, "Oi, Sojiro-sama, I'm not really... I mean I don't know how to... And I..."

"Listen, Kale-kun, you have to stop and think! Given the environment, with all the High School girls in their skirts, I can tell why you'll be hesitant in choosing just one girl, but you have to be clear headed and think of the future! If you play around too much, you won't be able to tell when you found the right girl!" Sojiro explained, sounding a bit desperate to get Kale to understand.

"Ai, bu-but what brought this one, Sojiro-sama?!" Kale questioned. Sojiro was known for his bouts of randomness, but he seemed a bit _too_ serious for it to be just that.

"I hear my Konata talking about how well you get along with her friends, especially that Kagami girl. Then I hear Yutaka going on about how you get along with this Hiyori girl. But to make matters worse..." Sojiro's voice trailed off...

"Worse...?" Kale asked.

"I catch you sleeping with my beloved daughter in her room!" Sojiro pointed at Kale, even more serious than before - Obviously, he was talking about the time Konata fell asleep on Kale while Kagami visited, being drained from taking care of Yutaka, who had been in a bout of sickness...

"So we're still remembering that, are we?" Kale said plainly, sighing.

"Oh how I envy you, though, with so many options! If only I had played the field so expertly when I was in high school..." Sojiro went on.

"You're completely jumping topics!" Kale commented. Accepting the fact that Sojiro didn't even know what he wanted to get across; Anger, a lecture, or congratulations, Kale merely say back in the seat and waited for him to finish...

Dinner came before he actually did finish, though.

-----

The next day was an odd one for Kale. It was the middle of the day, around lunchtime, yet he was alone. Of course, had he been in school, then he would have his usual handful of friends to talk with, but today... He just couldn't go. Couldn't bring himself to face anyone, and he didn't want his current mood to bring anyone down.

_Oi... Why didn't I just stay home? Nobody to yell at me for skipping. I guess I'm just used to being out at this time._

He sighed, continuing on his walk through the city. While there were places he didn't want to go, he had no destination, and simply wanted to walk. Lately, he had had no time to himself, due to Konata & Co., who had managed to revive him in a way. Though, it seemed his burst of energy had dulled down now, and he was reverting back to his old, extremely lazy self. He even looked lazy, mostly due to his hair, which he had neglected to do in his standard, lazily droopy pigtail today.

_Gah, I don't want to be like that. That was because of my mother, and she isn't around. I have no excuse... Though it would be nice to sleep whole days away again, hm... _

That thought caused him to stop walking. Why did he just blame his mother for being lazy? He loved being lazy, and he knew it wasn't her fault - A lot of things _were_ her fault, but not that. That was Konata's doing.

He was so caught up in his thoughts that he didn't notice someone was messing with his hair, though when he heard the soft 'snap!' of a rubber band, and felt his hair being held tightly together at a single spot below his neck, he was knocked out of it. Reaching back, he felt what had been added to his hair, and it turned out to be a rubber band - One of the skinny, near-string-like ones.

"Mm?" He mumbled, turning around to see who had restored his pigtail. They were nearly six-feet-tall, had moppy orange hair, and a rather annoyed, yet bored expression - Obviously, Takeshi.

"I know you're lazy, but at least keep the pigtail." Takeshi stated, speaking in a rather commanding voice, "Your purple hair looks too feminine if you let it out.

"Ngh... Why do you have to put it that way?" Kale asked, with a sigh. Despite his aggravation at Takeshi's bluntness, he had to admit that Takeshi had a point.

"Anyway, what're you doing way out here? Shouldn't you be in class?" Takeshi asked, speaking in the tone a teacher would use to ask a student that same question, while completely ignoring Kale's complaint.

"Ai, Takeshi-san, you know how it is... You're skipping, too, after all." Kale answered. While he had wanted to be alone today, he hadn't spent much time with Takeshi since he had returned, so he couldn't really complain. Besides, despite his mood, it would be good to hang out with a fellow guy instead of a group of girls.

"Well, that's good enough..." Takeshi responded, walking past Kale and continuing down the sidewalk. He stopped after a few steps and half-turned, giving Kale a bored look, "You comin' or what?"

"Mm? Oh, yes, yes..." Kale replied, quickly falling into step alongside Takeshi, "So, where are we going, anyway?"

"I dunno, doesn't really matter, I guess." Came the bored answer, "As long as we're as far away from school as possible, it's fine with me."

"Oy, Takeshi-saaan, I've been walking for a while..." Kale complained, barely managing to keep pace with Takeshi, who had no trouble walking for hours on end.

"So? Got a problem?" Takeshi asked, though the answer was obvious to him, since Kale was complaining.

"Ai, Takeshi-san, you know I don't like walking." Kale answered, sighing, "Besides, I'm getting hungry..."

"Aren't you always hungry?" Takeshi asked, though it was more of a statement.

"Nngh..." Kale groaned, "I guess so."

-----

It only took a few minutes for Kale to find a suitable place to eat, after which he practically dragged Takeshi, who wasn't in the mood to argue, inside with him. After Kale had ordered his food and was served, they left, with Kale carrying a rather large bag of dango and grinning happily, an empty dango-stick sticking out the side of his mouth already.

"Geez, you really fly through those things..." Takeshi commented, with a sigh. He looked at Kale out of the corner of his eye, not in the mood to turn and face his friend, "It's amazing you're not a fat guy."

"Mm? Well, I have put on _some_ weight, especially in the year I was away." Kale explained as he tried to swallow another mouthful, the stick bobbing up and down and nearly falling out. Clenching his teeth down to catch it, he turned to give Takeshi a grin, swallowing before continuing, "But, you can hardly tell, right?"

"Well, nooot exactly..." Takeshi replied, shifting his gaze to look away from Kale as they walked down the street, "Before you left, you were just this short, scrawny little kid. You've... Filled out."

"Oy, 'Filled out'? What's that supposed to mean, Takeshi-san?" Kale asked defensively. He poked Takeshi in the ribs, though that earned him an angry glare that caused him to back off.

"Eh? Hey, I'm just saying that when you left you were short and skinny." Takeshi explained, sighing again. He stopped walking, which caused Kale to stop, and they turned to face each other, "And now, you're not. I mean, you're still short, but you're not skinny. Not fat, either, before you go off about that."

"Ai, ai, alright." Kale nodded, satisfied. Chuckling nervously, he did the first thing that came to mind - Lifted up a stick, and chomped down on the sole remaining dango on it, holding the stick in place alongside the other in the corner of his mouth.

"But you know, you had better slow down on the sweets, before you start to get chubby." Takeshi commented, chuckling at the thought. It would be fitting, at least, since Kale was so lazy...

"Ngh..." Kale groaned, picturing it as well. He sighed, defeated, "That wont do..."

"Not really. You're too small to be chubby, your height would make your weight look even worse." Takeshi pointed out, grabbing the bag of food out of Kale's hands.

"Oi..." Kale whimpered. Once he saw Takeshi take the bag, he began to wonder if this was all just to get the food, though he quickly tossed that idea aside, "Takeshi-san, how are Misao-chan and Ayano-chan?"

"Ayano and Misao? They're fine, I guess." Takeshi shrugged, "It's hard to understand how a woman thinks, y'know? They look happy, so I guess they are."

"Mm? But you've known them for years, yeah? How can't you know what they're feeling?" Kale questioned, in disbelief. Though, perhaps Takeshi was just that thick-headed...

"Hey, like I said, women are hard to read. They change their minds and attitudes too much." Takeshi explained, "I can't be expected to keep up with that."

Kale sighed, head hanging in disappointment, "You don't give a very good example of male and female relationships, Takeshi-san..."


	9. Chapter 9

Ugh, yet another late update... Sorry, sorry. At least the next chapter is already half-done, which is more than I could say this time last week. If I don't update on time, then just wow.

I would just like to say thank you to everyone who's reviewed already. (( And yeah, this is definately looking a bit like something out of one of Konata's Dating Sims. I've already joked with Nuke that Kale's in his own personal harem series, heh... ))

As for this chapter? I have one major, major complaint... The length of the Lucky Channel. I hope to never have one as long as that one ever again...

Gonna cut straight to it this week. Nothing really to say. Again, sorry for the huge delay. I'll try to get my act together.

------

It was a rather late hour in the day. The sun had long since gone down, and by now most families were sitting down in front of the television, enjoying some time together...

That was _kind_ of what was going on in the Izumi residence. Sojiro, Yutaka, and their guest Minami were sitting in the living room and enjoying some show. Though, since they weren't very much interesting in anything non-anime-related at the time, Konata had dragged Kale back to her room, to enjoy a healthy, life-affirming videogame frenzy - Today's system: The Wii.

Konata's choice was a throwback to their childhood, which wasn't as far back as they have brought themselves to believe. It was the spin-off release that branched from the continuation of a rather long and strangely competitive series, one that she had yet to peel herself free from; Obviously, it was none other than Pokemon's Battle Rev.

"Ai, it's hard to believe that my Mijikai-chan is still a Pokemon fangirl." Kale commented, lazilly slipping the strap on the Wiimote around his wrist. He wasn't the type to need the strap, but he often got too lazy to hold it, and Konata was overprotective of her Wii and anything concerning it.

"I don't watch the anime anymore, but the games are still fun. I'm like you, I still play the games but ignore everything else about the series. Though sometimes they'll have a good fight in the anime, but I usually find out a bit later because I'm not paying much attention to it anymore." Konata explained, clicking through the various windows as she attempted to get a battle going. She then turned to Kale, "Do you need to update your Battle Pass?"

"Mmmm... Not really. I haven't updated my lineup since we last battled." Kale answered, "I know my Mijikai-chan has changed her lineup, though, after the thrashing I gave her last time."

A look of annoyance crossed Konata's face, and she turned back to the game. After she had set up the match, she turned to Kale, "Can you say you thrashed me when I had you down to just your Tyranitar?"

"Eh? My Tyrani_GOD_ is unstoppable!" Kale declared triumphantly. Though she most likely believed that he bragged about his Tyranitar purely because of how impressive it was, boasting an impressive record against the various Pokemon she's thrown in front of it, the truth of the matter was it was simply the Pokemon he was most proud of; It was the addition to his team that Konata had looked down upon the most as he trained it, stating that it simply wasn't built for the Metagame anymore. She explained that despite the fact that it had an amazingly high Attack stat, as well as a diverse movepool to take advantage of, it's Rock/Dark typing and low Speed offset it too much - Every one of the faster Pokemon, although not as powerful as Tyranitar, always had at least one attack that did double, many times even quadruple damage on him. While Tyranitar tried to offset his weaknesses with a powerful ability and hardy defenses, it simply didn't cut it in her mind, despite the fact that it was a staple Pokemon on many a competition team. Of course, that was all before she had experienced Kale's Tyranitar...

It only took a moment after the Battle Passes were loaded for the gam waited for the two otakus to select their Party Lineup. Truthfully, after selecting your first Pokemon, your order afterwards didn't matter much. They all came out whenever you tell them to after that, but the first one comes out at the start of the match. Many times the start of the match can decide the winner, so much thought was put into the opening Pokemon.

The match started with the view of a brightly lit, starry sky, slowly panning down to reveal a large, brightly lit arena, which was sorrounded by large, circular audience stands. They were packed from cheering fans, who, despite being nothing more than background images, helped to excite the two gamers.

"A silence runs through the crowd as the trainers prepare for battle." The Narrator spoke. Indeed, he was the same narrator from the anime series, which helped to seperate this game from it's DS counterparts.

A woosh was heard as the two trainers tossed out a single Pokeball each. In a flash of light, two Pokemon phased into existance on the arena - On Konata's side stood a small, though powerful looking Weavile. A Hippodown, easily up to four times the size of the Weavile, lay lazily on Kale's side of the field. An instant later, a powerful sandstorm was depicted engulfing the field, due to Hippodown's Sandstream ability.

Konata was in an odd situation; She thought Kale would open with his Sweeper, a special-set Lucario, or something of the sort. Her Weavile stood no chance against the Hippodown; Ice Punch was the only Super Effective move Weavile had against Hippodown, and it simply wasn't enough to knock it out in one hit, whereas Kale's Hippodown had a Super Effective move that would definately knock out her Weavile in a single hit; Earthquake. Of course, there was always the chance of Freeze to factor in, but the chance was at a measly 5, and Konata couldn't risk her Weavile like that yet, as it would prove to be very important later on.

Though she hated to do it, she was forced to swap out, bringing her Bronzong onto the field. Immediately after the swap-out, Hippodown performed a move that Konata dreaded: Stealth Rock. Several large rocks were depicted circling her Bronzong, and while they would do nothing yet, they were still deadly: Every time Konata switched out a Pokemon, or brought in one to replace a KO'd Pokemon, they would be hit by the Stealth Rock, sometimes for up to a whopping 50 of their maximum HP. It obviously reduced the effectiveness of her entire team, as she had to be careful, hope to not need to swap out as often, and make sure every swap-out counted.

_He knows my Bronzong has Levitate, so it's immune to his Earthquake. That's it's only attack, so he'll have to swap out if he wants to do any damage_, Konata thought triumphantly. She had already predicted Kale's choice, and had her Bronzong's attack reflect that. In a flash of light, Kale's Hippodown disappeared, and was quickly replaced by a Rhyperior. Afterwords, Konata's Bronzong performed Iron Defense.

_[Bronzong's Defense sharpy increased!!_

"Bronzong's stats just skyrockted!" The Narrator exclaimed.

"You're kidding me..." Kale sighed. He was planning to run on the hopes that his Rhyperior's Megahorn could hit the Bronzong for an OHKO; It definately had the power to, especially being Super Effective. The accuracy was the only deciding factor - Though after the Iron Defense, it was almost a given that, barring a Critical Hit, the Bronzong would survive a hit, possibly even two. Considering the fact that Megahorn was less than likely to hit two times consecutively, due to it's accuracy, there was also the fact that Megahorn could only be used 5 times in a match. Factoring in Bronzong's Leftovers item, which granted it 1/12th of it's remaining HP at the end of every turn, and all signs pointed to Konata making a wonderful move.

"You should know I don't go down so easily, Kale-kun." Konata teased, sounding rather pleased with herself. The two of them had been playing this type of game for years, and knew how each other thought. Whenever they battled, it was like a struggle of wills, though it was more plotting-oriented than action. As it stood, their record of wins against one another in Battle Rev was a whopping 50 to a miniscule 49 - In Konata's favor, of course. Though, with the recent addition of Tyranitar, which lead to a total restructure of his team, Kale was well on the way to matching and surpassing that count. Indeed, the last few matches were all a victory for him, though now it seems Konata had switched things up within her own team in an effort to better combat his. He would have to make some changes before he battled her again.

"Mmgh... Mijikai-chan will have to try harder to keep me away from the win."

----

It was a long and bitter match, with both Konata and Kale down to their final Pokemon. It all came down to Konata's Staraptor versus Kale's Tyranitar. Both were weakened from the rest of the match; Tyranitar was at 50 health, while Staraptor was floating around 40. Staraptor was naturally faster than Tyranitar, and packed the powerful Close Combat, which would be double-super-effective - It would hit Tyranitar for four times it's regular damage, which would undoubtedly drop it in a single hit. However, Tyranitar knew the amazingly useful Stone Edge, which was super effective on Staraptor, and had a high chance for a Critical Hit. It's only issue was an 80 accuracy; Essentially, it only had an 80 chance to hit, while Close Combat boasted a 100 chance to hit.

On top of that, Tyranitar had two Dragon Dances under it's belt. That meant both it's attack and speed were double what they normally were, and also meant that Tyranitar was much faster than Staraptor. He would hit first.

"Hehe, I told you, Mijikai-chan. You can't stop Tyrani_god_." Kale semi-declared, sounding quite pleased with himself. He quickly clicked on "Attack", then on "Stone Edge", and set the target as "Staraptor". Confident in his victory, he then slid off Konata's bed and left the room, heading for the kitchen in search of something to drink.

_Ai, nothing sweet enough for my tastes, mm? Oh well_, He thought as he checked the fridge. He grabbed a can of soda and made his way back to Konata's room, making it inside just in time to see something he would refuse to believe possible...

In big, red letters on the screen were the words "Player One Wins!", over an image of Konata's character in a victory pose.

"B-But... What happened!?" He stammered, shocked.

"Stone Edge missed Staraptor." Konata answered, speaking as if it were obvious. Of course, it made sense. Kale's horrible luck had caused Stone Edge to miss, and Staraptor's Close Combat to hit, resulting in Staraptor triumphing over Tyranitar...

"Mgh... So that makes it 51 to 49..." Kale said, more to himself than to her. He slowly made his way to her bed. He set the drink down on the floor before he sat down, not worried that it would spill as he had yet to open it. With a dissatisfied sigh, he leaned back, using his arms to prop himself up as he stared at her ceiling, "Oh well..."

Konata snuggled up against Kale, laying her head on his shoulder. To keep him still, she put an arm around his waist, pulling him even closer. He turned his head to face her as she turned to look at him; Just as she had predicted, he was blushing, and looked somewhat confused.

"What's wrong, Kale-kun?" Konata spoke teasingly, "I'm just claiming my prize..."

"I-I'm not a prize." Kale responded, looking away from her, both to hide his blush and to prevent himself from holding eye contact and causing himself to blush a deeper red.

"Of course you are." Konata said, laying her head on his shoulder again.

-----

The next day was a normal one for Kale. After his talk with Takeshi the other day, and his game time with Konata last night, he was feeling rather refreshed. He actually made it to school, and on time, no less, thanks to Konata and Yutaka. Kagami had been a bit irritated at his reason for skipping class, but she relented and commented that it was good that he was back in a healthy cycle.

Classes were as boring as always, with Kuroi's class being the most entertaining purely due to how Kuroi and Konata interacted in the classroom. The lumps on his head were worth it. As usual, lunch came quicker than he would have expected, and before he could so much as slide his desk next to Konata's, Kagami was already pushing her own into place alongside Tsukasa's, while Miyuki took the head of the seating arrangement.

"Hmm, it's been a while since we all sat here together..." Kale commented, boredly staring past Kagami, towards a group of girls behind her. He was more fixtated on their hair then them, though.

"It's only been two days." Kagami said, getting ready to dig into her bento. She then gave Kale an irritated look, "Oy, don't stare at me like that."

"Mm? Silly Ka-chaan, I'm not staring at you... You're in the way." Kale responded, though he peeled his eyes away and turned them upon the ceiling.

"Then what were you looking at?" Kagami questioned, obviously not believing him.

"Mm... Is it just me, or do people either have really long hair, or really short hair...?" Kale spoke up, motioning to Tsukasa and Kagami for "short" and "long", respectively.

"Yes, Kale, people either have long hair or short hair." Kagami said sarcastically, dismissing his observation.

"Oy, I meant either really short, like Tsu-san's, or really long like Yuki-san's." Kale explained, "It's not normally between those two lengths."

"B-But isn't Kona-chan's hair shorter than Yuki-san's?" Tsukasa questioned.

"Oh, Tsu-san, you misunderstand. Mijikai-chan's hair is technically shorter, but for her height it's the same length as Yuki-san's... If that makes any sense." Kale answered.

"Sadly enough, it actually does make sense..." Kagami said, with a sigh. She then pointed to Kale, "But you're hair isn't at either of the extremes. It's just a little bit past the middle of your back."

"Mm, true. But then again, isn't my hair really long for a guy?" Kale countered.

"Perhaps." Miyuki joined in, giving Kale a bright smile, "You see, you do your hair in a ponytail..."

"A lazy one." Kagami cut in, "But I guess it'd be too effeminate if you went the extra mile with it..."

"Oy, I don't like where this is going..." Kale complained, uncomfortable. He looked to Miyuki, "Yuki-saaan, why do you grow your hair so long?"

"I-I don't know, actually..." Miyuki replied, blushing a bit due to embarrassment, "I suppose it's because long hair has an elegant appearance to it..."

"That's true, and your pink hair looks really nice." Kagami complimented, "You must take excellent care of it."

"Oh, no, not at all. I'm actually quite lazy with my hair. Once I finish schoolwork and studying, I normally just watch television, shower, and go to sleep." Miyuki responded.

"I can sympathize." Konata said, "Once I finish with my MMO, I'm too drained to do much more than crawl into bed and sleep..."

"That's just because you're lazy, Konata, and you spend all day on your game." Kagami pointed out, then glanced at Kale, "And you're probably the same."

"Oy, what's with the generalizations? Because we're short, we're lazy?" Kale complained, "I find that offensive, Ka-chaan!"

"Don't put words in my mouth! I was pointing out that you're both lazy!" Kagami yelled back.

"Maybe I could take better care of my hair, but it's such a hassle to." Konata sighed, "Sometimes I want to just cut it and be through, you know?"

"I know the feeling." Kagami admitted.

"But Ka-chaan and Mijikai-chan can't cut their hair! Otaku's need long hair, after all! And Ka-chaan's pigtails are too fitting for her to get rid of!" Kale complained, _And it's really sexy when she lets it out... Oi, thinking like that again!? _

"Maybe. But you definately should cut your hair..." Kagami said, with a sigh.

"Ai, you're too negative, Ka-chaan..." Kale whined.

"I don't get it, really..." Konata sighed. She motioned to Tsukasa, "This one is so full of hope, and then the other one is..."

"Quiet!" Kagami yelled, "Just because I don't believe in wishes, and luck, and all that other stuff doesn't mean I don't have hope!"

"Maybe not hope, but you're definately lacking on something, Ka-chaan..."

-----

Kaito: Lucky Channelru!!

-Title screen drops, and Kaito gives a thumbs-up towards the camera.-

Kaito: Oha-lucky!!

-Kale is, as usual, asleep.-

-Kaito sighs and hits Kale's head with a paper fan-

Kaito: You should get used to this... If you don't fix it, I'm going to hit you with heavier things.

-Kale mutters something, then lifts his head up and looks towards the camera-

Kale: Mmgh... This again?

Konata: You can't frighten Kale-kun into not sleeping. Kuroi-sensei's learned that the hard way.

Kale: ... Quiet...

Kaito: Fine then... I suppose I'll have to get used to hitting him every time this happens. -Focuses back on the camera- Hey there fans! It's time fora brand new lucky Channel, with your hosts Yasuhiro Kaito...

Kale: And Kazehana Kale... And of course, our guest, Izumi Konata-sama

Kaito: Yes, it's an honorto have Kona-chan on this Lucky Channel. -Under breath- Since writers can't think of better ideas...

Konata: You should be more careful with what you say, Kaito-kun. You don't know what you might cause to writers to do to you.

Kale: Hehe, it'd be a shame if Kaito-san got written out... And I had Mijikai-chan all to myself.

Kaito: Oh crap, that would be bad... And it could be worse...

-Kaito's face is blank, due to horrifying thoughts.-

Kale/Konata: ...

Konata: So, what topic are you two supposed to go over today?

Kale: Mmm... -Kale stares towards the camera, trying to read the card behind it- ... -Squints- ... Ah! We're supposed to go over a few of the older characters.

Kaito: -Shakes head quickly, snapping back to reality- Yes! One great think about all of the adult characters is that they all have some kind of relation with Kona-chan.

Konata: Of course.

Kale: Well, not that creepy old lady who shows up from time to time.

Kaito: I call her Frieza Lady. But the ones we'll be covering are Kuroi-sensei, Yui-san, and Konata's dad, Sojiro-sama.

Konata: Oh! So we'll get to really tear into them!? -Excited-

Kale: Er, not exactly... Well, only if you're Kaito-san.

Kaito: Not really the case here. Since Yui is a pretty great person. And we're lucky enough that Minami's mom doesn't play a role in the show. And even if she did, I wouldn't hold a grudge against her.

Kale: Why aren't we covering Yukari-sama?

Kaito: Hmm, good question. May as well cover her, since she was great enough to give birth to living, female perfection.

Kale: Hm... Miyuki's pretty awesome, but I wouldn't say she's 'perfect'... I keep that title for another...

-Konata stares at Kale with a look that seems to say "This stare will eventually make you tell me!", while Kale merely looks the other way.-

Kaito: Oh, don't feel sad, Kona-chan. -Places a hand on her shoulder- You know you could never be replaced.

Producer: Oy! Kazehana! Yasuhiro! Get to the program.

Kale: Ai, Mijikai-chan is getting us in trouble!

Konata: Quick, quick, who's the first one?

Kaito: Ah... -Quickly pulls out a card with a picture of Kuroi- ... Kuroi-sensei.

Konata: Ah, Kuroi-sensei...

Kale: I can hear her yelling at us to stop talking here and get to our homework.

Konata: Don't joke like that...

Kaito: I can forgive her like that. A beautiful, young woman probably has enough trouble in her life. She just needs to find some happiness.

Konata: Oh, but doesn't she look pleased after she's hit me and you, Kale?

Kale: Kuroi-sensei is a masochiiiist!! -Lays head down-

Kaito: Hmmf. I think she needs some love. -Glances at Konata- What would you think if she became your new mom?

Konata: Hm... That would be pretty odd. I think my MMO time would drop significantly... My grads would probably be forced up, too...

Kale: ... That'd be bad for me, too, you know!

Kaito: Well, while Kuroi is great and all, lets get to the true master of the series; Sojiro-sama.

Kale: Ah, Sojiro-sama... What a wonderfully perverted man.

Konata: Sometimes I'm afraid I'll come home oen day to find the cops carrying him away...

Kaito: He'd be smart enough to keep a trap door somewhere. I have respect for a man like that, who raised you into the perfect person you are and recognizing everything about himself and why the otaku is so great. I feel like statues should be erected of him.

Konata: I guess from a male view, he'd seem much greater...

Kale: Sojiro-sama's also an amazingly kindhearted person. He opened his home up to Hiyowai-chan, after all, and helped raise me.

Konata: No, you just showed up so often he forgot you weren't his.

Kale: ... Shush...

Kaito: If I could be raised by Sojiro-sama, I would. Even if he's a lolicon, he's a bunch of other fantastic things.

Kale: Wait! What do you have against the lolicons?

Kaito: Nothing. Some people, however, don't like lolicons. Don't know why, really... I think we should find some of his writings. Maybe you two are characters in it!

Kale/Konata: ...

Kale: -Looks away, blushing.-

Konata: That would be awkward.

Kaito: Well, well... We can change the subject if needed.

Kale: Isn't Yui-san next?

Kaito: Ah, Yui-san. It's nice when you have a fun, energetic girl. Not to mention who wears glasses and has a cute smile.

Konata: You'd better be careful, Kaito-kun. Yui-san _is_ a cop...

Kale: Hehehe...

Kaito: A cop who lets you play H-games, but her being a cop isn't that important. Well, that gets me thinking. Yui and Yutaka are real oppsoites physically and mentally, even though they're sisters. But at this point, I don't really care, I'm just glad we have such great adults in the series.

Konata: Of course, they had to show what made this generation so great.

-Kaito moves closer to Konata-

Konata: Isn't that the truth.

-Kale gives Kaito an " (" look.-

Kaito: What?

-Kale moves closer to Konata, too-

Kaito: Need more otaku girls...

-Ending fanfare plays-

Konata: Oh, that means this is over, right?

Kale: Mhm. Means I get to go to sleep!

Kaito: Sadly, it does. OH well. Fans, we're seriously lacking on introductions. Send us your requests, thoughts, ANYTHING! We would really love it!

Kale: Ai, no! No more introductions! Send us ideas for anything else!!

Kaito: Bye-ni!!

-Kale waves, then looks to Konata-

Kale: Will you be joining us more often?

Konata: Dunno. This is cutting into my MMO time...

-Ending screen drops.-

Kaito: Online game time is very important.

Kale: And now... I go to sleep...

Kaito: You go sleep. Then I spend game time with Kona-chan...

Konata: Oh, you play the same MMO?

Kale: Strange, I'm suddenly not tired...

Kaito: Was thinking more we play some fighting games, or I can simply watch you play...

Kale: Oh, you can watch something alright...

Kaito: Hmm?

Konata: Kale's just grumpy from lack of sleep.

Kaito: Or perhaps it's something else, hmm?

Kale: Quiet!!

-TV shuts off-


	10. Chapter 10

I think after this chapter I'm going to switch to 1st-person writing. I'm much more comfortable in that realm, anyway. I also much rather prefer it. It offers more character development for the character the story follows. Starting with chapter 11, expect a sudden increase in first-person chapters from anyone's perspective. Especially Kale. So far he seems to be nothing more than just another random character. I want to try and fix that. And if I write in first-person, I can bust out chapters faster, due to my comfort in the area. I wont be late to update again, or at least I shouldn't be. 

This chapter was pretty odd for me. It started off good, and then I just couldn't concentrate for the latter half of it, so the quality goes down due to that. On top of that, due to a file-transfer mishap (( Admittedly, it's completely my fault )), this chapter was proofread, but I currently don't have that file on me. And if I update late, a certain someone kills me... But a few typos and errors here and there never killed anyone, right? 

Last thing; I've switched from (aiming to) update(ing on) Monday, to Wednesday, in order to give Nuke more time to update "on time." So technically, I'm only a day late. 

Starts chapter... Now. 

-----

It was another average day for the group of highschoolers. They all went about their daily routines to get ready for school, and all made their way, all hoping to make it on time. Of course some, like the Hiiragis, would make it on time, and others, like the Kazehana and Izumis, would make it much, much later. By the time Konata, Kale, and Yutaka made it to school the first classes were already ending. The three walked down the halls, deciding to make it to their next class before the others. Since Konata and Kale had the same classes, while Yutaka had a seperate one, she had split from them upon entering the building.

_Alone with Mijikai-chan, hehe..._ Kale thought, suppressing a grin. He wasn't really alone with her, of course, as there were a good _hundred_ students in the sorrounding classrooms, but he was in an awfully perverted mood today. Anything he could turn perverse was in danger.

"Oy, Kazehana, coming to school late, now?" A voice called out. It was obviously Takeshi's. There was nobody else who knew Kale that commanded such a powerful presence with just their voice. Both Kale and Konata turned to face him, and noticed Ayano was walking with him. Times like this it was painfully obvious how tall he was, as Ayano was much taller than both Konata and Kale, while Takeshi was taller than her. He looked right to Kale, bored eyes staring right through him, "You're picking up a few bad habits from me. You cut yesterday, and today you're just as late as me." 

"Hn, maybe..." Kale began to speak, turning away from Takeshi. He couldn't look him in the eye as he said this, Takeshi had those eyes that just killed any joke as you said it. Even if it wasn't very funny, it didn't matter much to Kale, "... I figured if I cut and came to school late, I'd become tall, short-tempered, and-"

He couldn't even finish. Takeshi's palm came down atop his head, took a hold of a chunk of hair, and pulled hard - Of course, not hard enough to pull even a single strand out. He wouldn't do that to his friend, no matter how annoying he was. 

"Ai, ai, ai, ai!" Kale yelled out, flailing his arms about pathetically. This is exactly what he hated the most; Someone messing with his hair. Despite his lazy outlook on life, he went to great lengths to take care of his hair. Though, he _did_ ask for such a reaction...

"Takeshi has a pretty short temper, he's like a typical shonen protagonist." Konata commented. Takeshi was tall, strong, fast, had a straightforward personality, and was quick to fight - A good description of several popular shonen leads. She turned to Ayano, a knowing grin plastered on her face, "I can see why you spend so much time with him. He must be_ really _good with his hands." 

"W-Well, I... I wouldn't really..." Ayano stumbled for words. She wasn't as used to Konata as others, due to their lack of communication. This was one of the few times Konata had ever directly spoken to her, and it was such an odd thing to say to someone you hardly knew, and the little wink she added after saying that didn't help. Despite that, Ayano still had her friendly smile, though she felt herself blushing a bit.

"Just admit it, girl." Konata teased, poking Ayano's belly playfully. As soon as she poked her, a wonderfully perverted idea came to her, one that would not only make them all do a double-take, but would free Kale from Takeshi's wrath. She felt herself blush _ever_-so-slightly as she looked up and made eye contact with Ayano, "You know, maybe he could learn a thing or two from Kale..."

"EH?" Was Kale's response, and Konata could tell from her current position that his face a bright red.

Takeshi let out a soft chuckle, as if he were actually amused by Konata's comment. He let go of Kale's hair, and pat him on the back, "So, this is the one you chose?"

"W-W-W-Wait, I haven't even done anything!" Kale stammered, eyes shifting between the three as he attempted to formulate something to say. Though, perhaps it was best if he stay quiet. With his perverted mood...

Konata merely snickered. It was just the reaction she had wanted.

-----

Takeshi slowly made his way to school. Sure, he was late, and sure, Ayano would kill him for it, but he didn't really care. He was in no rush, because he was already late. When you're late, why should you care how late you are? They'll just mark you 'late', anyway. A minute or thirty, what difference did it make? No need to rush...

"Oof!" A kid yelled. He had been running behind Takeshi, and hadn't been paying attention to where he was going, so he had bumped into him. However, while the kid was knocked off his feet, Takeshi was barely phased. He merely continued on his way, choosing to ignore the kid's stupidity.

"Hey, you! You had better watch where you're going!" The kid called out. Takeshi felt annoyance well up in him; Wasn't the kid the one that had ran into him? 

He stopped, and turned to face the kid. He wasn't exactly a 'kid', he was only a year or two younger than Takeshi himself; In his first year of High School opposed to Takeshi's third year. Rolling his eyes, Takeshi responded, "It's not worth fighting over, is it? Just keep going."

"That's it!" The kid yelled, amped. He then charged Takeshi, who couldn't quite figure out why the kid was so eager. Perhaps he was already on his way to a fight, and was ready to fight anyone? Whatever the excuse, this was a waste of his time...

_The chances of him wearing a cup are really low_, Takeshi thought to himself. Choosing to end the fight quickly, he merely swung low, stricking his opponent in the crotch. Before the kid fully react, Takeshi's other fist had connected with his face, and sent him onto the floor. 

---

"Stupid kids, they don't know when to leave the big boys alone." Takeshi muttered after finishing his story. School was already out, and he was currently walking with Kale, Konata, and their three friends; Kagami, Miyuki, and Tsukasa. 

"W-Was the kid okay?" Tsukasa questioned, sounding a bit worried.

"Hmph, like I care." Was the annoyed response.

"Don't you feel a little bad about beating up a kid like that?" Kagami practically yelled. Truth was, she hated violence, except for the violence in manga, anime, and games; Fake Violence, as she called it, was okay. Takeshi's violence, however, wasn't.

"Why should I? He started it, anyway, and I was a lot bigger than him." Takeshi replied, trying his best to not sound annoyed. To make sure his opinion was perfectly clear, he went on, "He got what he deserved. Maybe he'll remember this next time he tries to pick a fight."

"Takeshi-san is amazingly uncaring." Kale stated, just to make sure everyone understood. And it was true, Takeshi generally didn't care about anyone, not even his friends. He's only ever shown compassion towards Ayano, and very rarely towards Kale.

"Obviously." Kagami responded, suppressing her anger. She gave Takeshi an annoyed glance, "Anyway, why are you following us?"

Takeshi sighed at the question, "Ayano is meeting me somewhere later." He explained, glancing at Kagami, "When I heard you yelling at Kale over something, I decided to come over and join in." 

"Hehe, Takeshi-san acts like he doesn't like me, but I know he does." Kale said, in a teasing tone. To him, Takeshi was a lot like Kagami; They both did their best to develop a 'Screw off' aura, but they really weren't that bad when you got to know them. They were fun to mess with, too.

"Keep talking like that, and you'll join that brat from earlier." Takeshi hissed in response.

"It's odd that you have such a brash and violent friend, Kale-kun." Miyuki commented, more to herself than to Kale or anyone else.

"Every guy has to have a friend like that." Konata explained, "When he gets into fights, he tells their group about it. Then they all feel more manly through him."

"Mijikai-chan doesn't understand men as well as she'd like us to think, it seems..." Was Kale's only comment.

"Or maybe you just keep Takeshi around so he'll be a bodyguard." Konata suggested, with a knowing grin.

"Eh? When have I ever needed a bodyguard!" Kale asked, a bit distressed. Had something happened and he not known?

"Sounds like something you'd do." Kagami admitted.

"Like I'd fight for him." Takeshi said, sarcastically.

That sparked Kagami's curiousity, "You know, now I'm really interested. How did you two become friends in the first place?" 

"Mm, it's not that great of a story..." 

--- Flashback to Fourth Grade ---

It was lunch time, and the children were all running around the classroom, causing havoc. It was raining outside, so the kids were stuck inside, instead of being released to the yard for a few precious moments before returning to class. Kale much preferred this; Not only did they save time by not needing to walk to and from the classroom, he also had a chair to sit in the whole time, as well as a desk to lay his head on. However, something was going on that was destroying his attempts to nap...

Takeshi, the tallest kid of the class, was standing in the middle of the classroom. Held above his head, by his own hand, was a manga, and in front of him stood Konata, who was trying desperately to get the volume from his grasp. Though she was still average height with everyone, as she had only fallen behind height-wise in the sixth grade, she wasn't able to reach it with merely jumping. He was just too tall.

"Come on, give it back!" She whined. It wasn't even clear to her why it was taken from her; She only knew it was hers, and she wanted to read it. 

"Not until you tell me what's so special about this book. Why are you always reading it?" Takeshi questioned. The fact that she shut out everything, even the teacher at times, for just manga made no sense to him - Obviously, he wasn't an otaku like her and Kale. 

Annoyed and desperate for even a few minutes devoted to napping, Kale slowly inched his chair behind Takeshi, doing his best not to cause the desk to screech as it was pushed across the floor. When it was close enough, he climbed atop it and used the newfound height to snatch the manga from the unsuspecting Takeshi's hand.

"Eh?" Takeshi gasped, surprised. He turned around and found Kale, who was already hopping down from the chair, "When did you-?"

Making his way around Takeshi, Kale approached Konata and handed her the manga. Smiling brightly, Konata gave him a tight hug, "Ooh, thanks Kale-kun!" With that, she made her way away from the two.

"Why did you do that?" Takeshi asked, more curious than annoyed.

"Mm?" Kale mumbled, turning to face Takeshi again. He smiled nervously, "Hehe, Konata-chan needed my help, so I had to help her."

"Don't you jump in like that again, kid, got it?" Takeshi ordered. Little did he know, Kale's stubborn-phase was in full-force.

"Hn, aren't we the same age?" Kale asked, directed towards the 'kid' crack. He then smiled again, "Anyway, why are so into bugging my Konata-chan?"

"Don't worry about it." Was the response.

"Mm, anyway, don't bother my Konata-chan again, okay?" Kale said, innocently, before turning and making his way towards Konata. He sat next to her, laying his head down on the desk, and slowly drifted off to a short nap...

---

"Kale-kun was such a gentleman years ago." Konata said, seemingly lost in memory. As quickly as she was reeled into the memory, she snapped out of it, and gave Kale a plain stare.

"Mm?" Kale mumbled, noticing the stare. He looked at Konata, "What is it?"

"What happened to you?" Konata asked, sounding a bit disappointed. 

"Hmph, whatever." Kale responded. He wasn't so sure on what to say to that, he wasn't even sure what Konata was implying. Had he changed that much? 

"... _That's _how you met him?" Kagami asked, in disbelief, "And you two are_ friends _now!"

"Kale put up a good resistance." Takeshi said, "I respected him for that, and still do."

"Mhm. And eventually Takeshi got tired of bugging us." Kale continued, though he then looked to Takeshi, "But, he's gotten back into the habit it seems, mm." 

"Keep talking." Takeshi said, in a threatening tone.

"I still don't see how any of that leads to a friendship..." Kagami said, with a sigh.

"Perhaps it's something only men would understand, Kagami?" Miyuki offered.

"That sounds about right." Konata agreed.

"Most likely." Kagami said, with a nod.

-----

"Oy, what an annoying day..." Kale said to himself as he made his way through his house. Kagami and Takeshi had done nothing but argue the entire time they had been out, mostly caused by Takeshi's short temper and laid-back attitude. She simply hated it, and wasn't in a very good mood herself. By the time they had run into Ayano, they all had a headache. With a sigh, he made a promise to himself, "Never going to let those two talk to each other again..." 

He made it to his room, and wasted no time in walking to his bed and throwing himself onto it. Something about his bed, he just loved it. Of course, it could be due to him spending 90 of his free time on it. Then again, he felt comfortable in almost any bed; His bed back home with his mother was awfully comfortable, and then there was Konata's bed, which may only seem so appealing because, well, it's _Konata's_ bed...

"Oy, thinking of Konata while I lie in bed now, am I?" He said to himself, with a chuckle. Laying his head back on the pillow, he turned to face the computer screen. Even though he couldn't make out exactly what was going on on the screen, it was obvious nothing had happened since his last check a few hours ago. 

_Ai, the net can wait until tomorrow. I need to get my fourteen hours of sleep..._


	11. Chapter 11

As I said... Point of view work this chapter. As such, it's vastly different from the previous chapters. It's much more... Wordy. But I prefer this to the old format. I'll stick with this, and make it a different character each chapter.

Chapter 12 will be from Kagami's perspective, for instance.

And please, don't jump to conclusions with the first few paragraphs like two out of my three proofreaders did. I'm really still conflicted. Look back to the previous chapters and you'll see he's reflecting on the past few years of his life. I figured I'd start with the most important piece of his life in the spotlight.

Oh! And no "Lucky Channel" this week. I (Read:Me and Nuke) are out of ideas. Any suggestions would be welcome.

Time to start

* * *

**_Kale's PoV:_**

It's quite odd, isn't it? My obsession with Konata, that is. Maybe it isn't, but I think it is. I wouldn't say 'infatuation', I don't think my feelings are that developed yet. Definately obsession, though. Or perhaps 'crush'? I always saw 'infatuation' as a fancy way of saying 'love'. I know I don't love her _yet_. 'Crush' and 'Obsession' both work, though.

I don't even know when it started, when I started to long for Konata. Day in and day out, for the past few years, she's always on my mind. Then again, she's pretty deeply rooted into my life right now; We go to the same school, with the same classes, and have the same friends, on top of the common interests that Otaku's share. She lives across the street, in the home that I spend most of my free time that isn't devoted to sleeping in, and to top it off she serves me dinner every night. I guess... Even if I wanted to, I wouldn't be able to get her out of my head.

Heh, looks like I caught myself. 'Even if I wanted to'; I guess this doesn't bother me as much as I think. Then again, I've always been horrible with realizing things about myself. I'm always stuck in a horrible case of denial over everything. 'I _didn't_ oversleep', 'I do _not_ read too much yuri', 'I don't sleep _that_ much', 'I don't like Konata like _that_', I've always found some way to outright refuse to believe things about myself that are pretty obvious. Okay, aside from that last one, but it took me pretty long to believe it.

And to be honest, it's scary. Konata's so hard to read. She's always so happy, so active and spontaneous, so... Completely opposite of myself. Well, _completely_ opposite is a stretch. Despite it all, we're both lazy perverts who are obsessed with the fictional writings and drawings of various people we don't even know. And games. Can't forget those.

My room is practically a temple to everything that is otaku. The various shelves are lined with my collections of manga, all of it disorganized. My collection of various anime boxsets also takes up a shelf or two, and my computer holds an unbelievable amount of images, videos, and various other files relating to everything I follow. Let's not forget the various stacks of light novels that litter the floor. Sure, I have spare rooms to put all of this stuff, since I live alone, but I feel much more at home surrounded by my collections. Odd, huh? As much as I hate to admit it, that one word sums me up nicely—odd.

Then again, why shouldn't I accept my oddity? I'm the shortest boy in the school, and I most likely have more money than anyone else there. My kitsune eyes make everyone think I'm up to something 90 of the time, and it's not like I can do anything about that. My hair is long, and oddly colored for a guy. I have odd speech patterns, and the tendency to nickname everyone I grow close to. Strangest thing, though—as easily as I can recite your name in my head, the moment I try to say it, I spout out what I've nicknamed you. Konata will always be 'Mijikai-chan', and yes, I will always call her '_My_ Mijikai-chan'. Just like Kagami will always be '_My _Ka-chan'.

I shift positions on my bed, moving from lying on my shoulder to laying on my back. My sight shifts from a view of my mess of a room to the rather dull but oddly luring ceiling. Strange, isn't it? I could just stare at this ceiling, lost in my thoughts all day. My eyes are slowly closing, and I'm ready to accept the darkness. Sleep would do me good...

If only my stomach would agree.

I sit up, groaning. Throwing my arms out to the side, I stretch, which proves to be rather uncomfortable; Several cracks resonate through my body as I do, and once my arms drop back to my sides I feel a rather powerful, yet oddly 'hollow' pain around my shoulders and down my back. Thankfully, it fades away quickly. With that done, I throw my blanket off of myself and quickly make my way off the bed.

How could I consider falling asleep? I haven't even had dinner yet. Konata's cooking right now. Then again, while I am hungry, I'm simply not in the mood to change and go across the street. Don't have the energy, either. Wouldn't it be even worse if I showed up, only to fall asleep? I'll just call her, and tell her I'll see her tomorrow... Sleep is sounding pretty good right now.

Now if only I could find that phone for once in my life...

Of course, once I spoke to Konata, I wasn't able to sleep. The sudden burst of action required to find the phone and talk to her had made my body and mind accustomed to the movement, and they refused to go back into sleep-mode. Since I know better than to argue with my body, I resigned myself to the couch to stare into my television for a few hours. Oh, how boring television can be. Especially during the 'dead-hours,' the time where there was no anime on anywhere.

Oh, how boring can you be?! I _don't_ care about the weather tomorrow, I _don't_ care about the hot new car, and I most definitely _don't care _about the number one drama of the season. I want fighting, I want pain, I want suffering, I want something to blow the hell up! Or, you know, something a bit more ecchi... Akamatsu-san, why must your anime adaptations be so lackluster compared to the manga counterpart?

Mm, is that my doorbell?

Zombie-time. I force myself to my feet and slowly drag my feet towards the hallway, though my ultimate goal is the front door. Upon reaching my destination, I methodically undo the two locks and weakly grasp the doorknob. With a loud, annoying creak, the door swings open, revealing just who I had expected it to be—Konata.

And I won't lie; I desperately wanted to see her. I always do, and I really don't know why. Of course, I'll admit to be obsessed, but the 'Why?' behind it eludes me. Never once have I come up with a satisfactory answer to that question, and I doubt I ever will.

"Nn, Mijikai-chan...?" I manage to let out before breaking into a yawn. God, I must look like such a mess right now; my hair is undoubtedly out of control, and the bags under my eyes are probably very noticeable, on top of my currently slouched demeanor... Oy, how can I let her see me like this?

"I knew you'd still be up, you always do that." Konata spoke, in a rather belittling tone. You know, that tone that mothers use when they're trying to point something out to their stubborn child for the hundredth time. Of course, she knew that saying that wouldn't be enough, and she went on, "You wake yourself up to call to say you won't make it because you're half-asleep."

"Ai, Mijikai-chan didn't come here to scold me, did she? Nn, I don't need the image of my Mijikai-chan with a whip in my head before I go to sleep..." I respond, using my best 'cutesy' voice. I hate it when Konata does this, even though I know she's right. Of course, I doubt she expects me to change my ways...

"Oh, Kale-kun, you're so hopeless," was her response, spoken while giving me a happy smile. Or perhaps it was a teasing smirk. You can never really know with my Konata...

"Mm, of course. That's what makes me so loveable," I say, grinning. She lets out little more than a grunt before giving me an inspective once-over. As usual, she never blinks while she does so, and goes about it casually, as if this were the norm. I feel a blush forming on my cheeks, and I resist the urge to curl up under her eyes, instead finding it in me to stammer something out, "W-What is it, M-Mijikai-chan?"

"Mm..." she responded, as if my question hadn't registered, continuing her visual assault. I hate it when she gets like this, and it's always when she makes an 'amazing' discovery. After another moment or so, she blinks back to reality and gives me a big grin. "You know, Kale-kun, I never noticed it before, but you're a walking pile of turn-ons yourself!"

"E-Eh!? Miji-Mijikai-chan, isn't th-that a b-bit awkward to say wh-while standing at my d-door?" I stammer out, it was all I could do. How do you respond to that!? And her, how does she say things like that as if it were nothing? Making such a claim, with nothing more than a grin and a twinkle in her eye... So odd, the object of my affection...

I had looked her in the eye as I tried to think of what to say, and perhaps I held it too long. That knowing look in her eye, the one that she always has when I act in a way she predicts, was replaced with one of curiosity. Thankfully, she quickly got over it and jammed a finger into my ribs to make sure I listened to her, "Anyway, are you going to let me in or not?"

Ah, this is the part of her I enjoy the most. The direct side of her, the one that simply states what she wants, always as a question. It's one of her quirks, like my varied collection of similar ones. Not one to leave my precious Konata waiting, I reply with nothing more than a nod, and proceed to stand aside to allow her entrance. Somehow, I find it in me to not sneak a peak at her as she walks by, and simply close the door behind her...

Taking the initiative, as always, Konata grabbed my wrist and led me to my room. Normally this is where my perverted side kicks in, and I make a comment... Something like, 'Ai, Mijikai-chan won't be so commanding in bed as she is in the hall, will she?', but for some reason I couldn't speak... I simply stared at her hand, which had an oddly gentle-yet-still-powerful grip on my wrist. Ai, she's always like this, so... commanding. It's as if she knows she can make me do anything she wants...

Before long I find myself sitting on my bed, with Konata mere inches away from me. Directly ahead of us is my large plasma screen television, which my Wii was hooked up to. Ever since it's release in Japan, Konata has become hooked on Brawl. Seeing as I have the bigger TV, and oddly enough the internet connection is better at my house, she tends to find her way here every time she can't hold down the urge to play anymore. So, it came as no surprise when the intro cinematic began playing.

"Oi, Mijikai-chan, this game again?" I whine, though I accept the Wiimote she offers me. Like her, I only ever play Wii games with the Wiimote and Nunchuck, and I believe the Wii loses a lot of the appeal it aims for when you use Gamecube or Classic controllers. Then again, Brawl really separates itself from Melee when you use the Wiimote to play it, so that helps...

"Of course," she says as she quickly navigates through the menu. A look of determination crossed her face as she highlighted Classic Mode. "I still have to beat Intense difficulty with a few characters."

"Nngh, you're crazy..." I sigh, though now I find myself wondering why she bothered handing me a controller.

"Oh, Kale, you never want to challenge yourself," she replies, in a rather teasing tone.

Mm? Me? Not challenging myself? She's crazy. I haven't made a pass at her yet, have I? That's damn impressive, if I do say so myself...

About three hours later, we're still resting on the bed as she keeps on playing. I've long since lost the energy to hold myself up, and now I lay on my side, with my head resting in her lap. Her left hand has long since been lost in my mess of hair, and her right hand is lazily propping her up. Luckily, neither takes away from her ability to play, or else I'd have been kicked or rolled off long ago. Yet again, I feel myself succumbing to sleep. My eyes are slowly closing, and I don't really have the energy or the drive to combat the oncoming sleep...

It's kind of odd, though. When she first showed up at my door, I was rather... Energetic. Happy that she had shown up. But it didn't take very long for me to just give in and fall asleep. I guess she has a calming effect, which is pretty strange to conclude, considering how she does her best to draw out strong responses from both myself and Kagami...

Despite my dulled senses, I clearly feel her hand slide out from under my hair, and her whole body tenses up for a moment as she lets out a small yawn. Mm, must be stretching... I lift my head up, and she scoots to the side and towards freedom. Afterwards, I pull myself up and off the bed. Now, we're both standing, and both obviously tired. A quick glance at the clock fills my being with dread; it reads "2:00", meaning it's two in the morning... We only have a few hours of sleep before school.

I slowly walk with Konata through my house, escorting her to the door. Or, more specifically, following her. We don't say a single word to one another until we reach the door, where she turns towards me with a pleasant smile, "Well, goodnight then."

"Mhm..." I say through a yawn, and give her a nod, "I have a feeling Kuroi-sensei is going to beat me senseless tomorrow... Ngh, tomorrow is going to suck..."

"It won't be that bad," she responds, waving a hand as if she were dismissing my worries. And oddly enough, I feel somewhat assured of that, though I know my forehead will be meeting Kuroi-sensei's fist a few times regardless.

"Hn, you always do that. Say something with such confidence..." I pout, trying my best to exude a powerful aura, as if I were sure of my claim for tomorrow regardless of her words. But, that didn't last very long. I felt myself crack, and before I could think I found myself hugging her, and I can only manage out a single word: "Thanks..."

She was obviously thrown off by my actions, and to be honest so was I. But, I feel her pat my back as she returns the hug, before pulling herself free. She gives me a reassuring smile, "Anyway, I'll see you tomorrow. Don't wake up late, like you always do."

"Oi, I'll try..." I sigh. Luckily, it's dark outside, and my blush is hidden by the darkness. With those final words, she's gone, and my day is over.

And you know what? I was right. Not only did I get less than six hours of sleep before school, I overslept. Waking up to an angry Konata standing at your bedside is_ not _pleasant, no matter what you feel for her. After rushing to get ready and bolting out of the house, I found myself nodding off on the train. Following the train ride, I continued to nod off in each of my classes, which did nothing but anger my teachers. Kuroi-sensei was in an especially bad mood today, and I was the prime target - Konata had picked up on her foul mood and managed to stay up, while no matter how hard I tried I found myself drifting. Luckily, my mop of hair is able to hide the four large lumps forming on my skull.

It's currently lunch time, and only now have my numerous naps begun to kick in. I'm actually able to stay awake, which is a miracle in itself. Thankfully, the girls picked up my lack of energy, or perhaps Konata told them - Anyway, they were all kind enough to push their desks to me, instead of gathering in the middle of the classroom like always.

"You look rather tired today, Kale-san. Any particular reason?" Miyuki asked, shifting her attention from her rather expensive looking meal to myself. I couldn't tell if she was making an observation, or playing off of information Konata gave her, but it really didn't matter.

Before I could respond, however, Kagami spoke up, "But isn't he perpetually tired? He's like a bear."

"Hn, that hurts, Ka-chaan..." I respond, using my best cutesy voice and faking a pout. I know she's just kidding, I can tell from the tone of her voice, but that doesn't mean I can't have my fun with her.

An annoyed look crosses her face, but once we make eye contact she cracks and looks away in an attempt to mask her blush, "I-I didn't mean to offend you. Sorry." She manages. Her voice sounds a bit weak, and she's obviously uncomfortable muttering those words, but she's genuine in her apology.

"Hehe, aww..." I tease, scooting my chair over as I do. She leans away from me, trying to put some distance between us, but I simply lean over as well, and wrap my arms around her for a hug.

"W-What are you- Get off me!" She blurts out, trying her best to push me away. I prove to be a bit more than she could handle, and she simply succumbs to the hug, blushing the whole time. But, I do pull away rather quickly, as I don't want to push my luck. As much as I do enjoy annoying my Kagami, I don't like having her angry with me. It's an odd friendship, I know.

"Hehe, sorry." I say, though I'm really not. We make eye contact, and I feel as if she's trying to read my mind through it, but I really don't care. I'm just lost in her eyes, those wonderful eyes. So deep, full of knowledge and understanding...

Ai, yes, I'm also attracted to Kagami. I don't understand why, but I am. Something about her, I just can't get enough. She's kind of everything that I need, in the same way Konata is. She's fun, intelligent, down-to-earth, and... Well, I find both her shy and commanding aspects to be pluses, as well. Ngh, I desperately need to come to terms with this...

"What are you staring at!?" Kagami's irritated voice knocks me out of my thoughts, and my little world cracks and falls apart to reveal what I'm truly looking at - Which, to my embarassment, turns out to be Kagami, who I never took my eyes off of.

"Ah, um..." I blush, scooting my chair away. Giving her an embarassed smile, I stammer out, "S-S-Sorry..."

"Kale's a bit clingy lately." Konata states, putting her cornet down. She holds up a finger in an informative way, making eye contact with both me and Kagami before going on, "He made a point to stay close to me last night, and hugged me, too."

That causes me to lay my chin on the desk, and simply stare at the faded wood. I feel myself blushing, though maybe it's from the hug, and I speak out in a weak voice, "Maybe I just need some love, Mijikai-chan..."

"So you're looking to us for love?" Kagami questions, her face lighting up in a blush again. Hn, so cute...

"Don't worry, Kagamin, Kale's just joking." Konata assured her friend, giving me a rather... Odd look. She continued, "After all, Kale's afraid of commitment, right?"

"Nn... Yeah..." I admit. And it's true, I'm deathly scared of getting involved with either of these two for various reasons. That doesn't mean I don't wish things were... Different...

Ai, if only they knew...


	12. Chapter 12

Hm... No comments. Dunno what I was on when I plotted/wrote this out, though.

Enjoy.

* * *

**Kagami's PoV**

Augh, just another hectic day at home. Mom is trying to organize some family competition thing, Matsuri and Inori are stressing dinner for some reason, Tsukasa is doing her best to help, but... You know how that always ends up. And the whole time, Dad is trying to get the three of them to calm down. And here I am, trying to study for a World History test on Thursday!

This is ridiculous... Why couldn't I have been an only child? Or at least, only have Tsukasa as a sister? That would be fair. I'd have a sister, and not be overwhelmed. Well, not as often. Tsukasa can be a handful at times, after all. But then again, she's not that bad. She can be pretty helpful at times, too.

Wait! I can't be busy thinking about 'What if's! I have studying to do! A glance at the page number in my book gives away just how much I need to study; It's page 206. I wanted to be at least thirty pages ahead by now!

"Kagami! Someone's here for you!" I hear Mom call from downstairs. Someone here... For me? That's odd. Only Konata and Miyuki would come over unannounced like that, and neither are supposed to be at home today.

"Alright, mom! Give me a minute!" I yell my response, and quickly jump off my bed and rush to a drawer. Even though I was already out today, once I got home I locked myself in my room and got back in my pajamas. After all, nobody was supposed to come over today, and my family would understand why I'm wearing my more comfortable clothes for around the house instead of being dressed to go out.

I hurriedly shed my pajamas, and replace them with a simple pair of jeans and white top. My hair will have to stay down, I don't have time to do my hair up in pigtails. Once I'm dressed, I head out of my room and downstairs.

"Kagami!" Mom is already calling me again. Understandable, I guess, since I did have to change my clothes.

"I'm here, I'm here." I answer as I near the bottom of the stairs.

After I make it past the bottom step, I glance at my mother, and notice our oddly short guest standing beside her. He's dressed in black jeans and shirt, and his purple hair, which he neglected to put in a ponytail today, was coming down over his eyes. Depsite that, I could almost see the amused glint in his eye to accompany his grin...

"K-Kale? What are you doing here?" I stammer out. Grabbing a tuft of hair near my ear, I slowly wrap and unwrap it around my finger and look away from him to avoid blushing, "Y-You could at least call before you show up."

"Hn, but I _did_ call..." He speaks almost pleadingly, as if I were about to kick him out. Well, maybe the thought had crossed my mind, but I wouldn't ever kick a friend out. That caused me to shift my attention back to him, and I see he's now crossed his arms, his head tilted to the side as if he were looking away from me and Mom, "I was invited over for dinner, too. That's why I'm here."

"Tsukasa must have forgotten to tell you. He called earlier, and she invited him over for dinner." Mom explained. She then placed her hand on his shoulder and smiled down at him, "He's lucky we have a spare seat today, or else he'd be stuck home."

"Hehe, that's me; Lucky." Kale grinned up at her. Augh, he has such a, a... Aura about him! I can't place it, really, but he's so... Smug! Yeah, that's the word for him; Smug! Just like Konata, sometimes I can't stand the two of them!

Though, he's not as bad as Konata. I prefer hugging to poking my chest, and he never stares at... Places, like she does. For the most part, he'll keep his comments to himself, too. Then again, he's always so sure he has everyone figured out. Kind of egotistical, if you ask me...

"Oh, Kagami, why don't you take Kale to the living room while your sisters prepare dinner?" Mom suggested. Not a bad idea, really. I'd rather not deal with Matsuri and Inori in the kitchen, and I hate Tsukasa showing me up, so it'd be a good idea to avoid anything related to cooking. Besides, it's easier to deal with him than to deal with those three...

"Alright." I nod, and walk past the two. After a few steps I turn back, and motion to Kale, "C'mon."

"Coming, coming." He says, in a sing-songy tone. God, he can do it so... Cutesy. He's like Konata, he knows how to take advantage of his size for the cute-factor, only... Different. Konata goes for lolicon turn-ons, it's like she wants pedophiles to go after her. Kale, on the other hand, just makes it cute. I wonder, does he even know he's doing it? Or has he just not grown up in some ways?

After a short walk we find ourselves in the living room, and I notice him staring at the wall across from the television. He turns to me, looking somewhat confused, "Ka-chaan... Where's your couch?"

"We don't have one. You're just too used to your house." I answer as I find a place to sit. Well, it's true. I don't know very many people with couches, but I don't go to very many houses. Does Miyuki have one? Maybe it's a 'rich' thing...

"I guess. Hehe, maybe it's for the best..." He follows and takes a seat next to me. Giving me an embarrassed grin, he continues, "If you did, I'd probably fall asleep on it..."

"Do you do anything besides eat and sleep? Sheesh, what are your grades like?" I ask, a bit irritated. Augh, why does he irritate me so much? He's hardly said anything, why am I so annoyed?

"Hn, I'd rather not say if you're going to be like that..." He mutters. I guess he wanted to change the subject, because he takes a moment to think, and then turns to me again, "Mm, Ka-chaan... The TV?"

"Huh? Oh, sorry..." Now I have to move, and I just got comfortable. I hold back a sigh as I crawl towards the television and turn it on. I don't bother to change the channel, since dinner will be ready before we can get into anything. Augh, I can just feel his eyes roaming my body right now. I swear, Konata's made him so, so... Perverse!

In an attempt to discourage him so I can make it back to my seat in peace, I turn back and give him a nervous smile, "I hope you don't mind, but dinner will be soo-" And I stop. He's not looking at me, not even close. He's just... Watching his hands, as he twiddles his thumbs together. Now a bit confused, I reclaim my seat next to him, never taking my eyes off him, "What's wrong?"

"Mm? Oh, heh. It's nothing, Ka-chaan..." He doesn't sound too convincing, and the weak smile he's giving me isn't helping. My worried stare eventually breaks his will, and he sighs, "Hn, it's just that, I'm kind of nervous... You know, meeting your whole family. I, uh, don't really do well in group introductions."

"You're acting as if you're my boyfriend or something." I comment, and look away from him to hide my blush, "You don't have to worry, you're **just** a friend."

"Hehe, thanks..." Was the response, and just going by the tone in his voice I could tell he's already feeling better. I then feel him lean against me, with his head resting on my shoulder. Oh god, how badly am I blushing right now!? My entire body tensed up at the faintest bit of contact, and my eyes are wide open. I'm just not used to this! I can take a hug, or a poke... But this? And in my living room, of all places?

Of course, it isn't over yet. Just as I've regained my senses, and am about to shove Kale away, Matsuri decides now is the perfect time to barge in with an announcement, "Dinner's ready! Oh my..." She giggles, obviously at our current position. I feel Kale immediately pull away... Man, he's fast. Turning to Matsuri, wide-eyed and blushing, I shake my head to imply that whatever she's thinking right now is wrong, but she merely ignores me, "So, is this why we've hardly heard about him, little Kagami?"

This has to be the most dreaded moment of my life. I can't believe that Matsuri, of all people, had seen that! Maybe Inori, or Mom, definately Tsukasa... They'd understand! But Matsuri? Oh, no... Even if she did understand, she'd never let me live it down. We're, like, rivals... Or something. Out of all the siblings, me and her don't get along at all. It's really odd, actually. I always thought twins were the most competitive, and that's what everyone tells me, but I feel more competitive with Matsuri than Tsukasa. I guess that's because Tsukasa relies on me so much, I just can't picture being competitive with her...

"Here they are." Matsuri said to the rest of the family. Tsukasa was sitting next to Mom, and Inori sat across from Tsukasa. Matsuri claimed the seat across from the empty seat next to Mom. As for Dad, well... He was busy at the Shrine today. Luckily, he wouldn't get to meet Kale. Though I can't tell if that's lucky for me, Kale, or Dad...

Inori turned in her seat and smiled at Kale. So far, she had been the only one to not see him at least once, and as such she greeted him, "Oh, hello there." She says, then looks at me, still holding her smile, "Going to introduce us to your friend, Kagami?"

"Huh? Oh, right... Everyone, this is Kale. Kale, this is Inori and Matsuri..." I say to Kale, holding my hand out to Inori, then Matsuri, so he would know who was who. I then nodd to Mom, "And this is our mother, Miki."

"So, Kale, have a last name?" Matsuri asked, having turned in her seat as well and given Kale her full attention. Sheesh, now she's taken an interest in him...

"Mm?" Kale mumbled. God, he always does that. It's so annoying, yet so... Cute. Augh, what am I thinking!? Luckily, his talking snaps me out of that train of thought, "Of course. Kazehana. Kazehana Kale.

"Well, Kale, come and take a seat." Inori motions, though to us both, and only now do I realize that I haven't taken a seat either. Kale beat me to the seat between Inori and Matsuri, thankfully, and I took my preferred seat next to Mom, and across from Matsuri. Dad's seat at the head of the table was left empty.

Once we were all seated, we begin to fill our plates from the pot in the middle of the table. Of course, I'm too lost in my own mind to even notice what I'm putting on my plate, I'm just working on autodrive as I prepare myself for the inevitable...

And here it came... Matsuri motioned to Kale with her hand, though her eyes were glued on me, "So, Kagami, why haven't we heard about this one before?"

Kale gave me an oddly disappointed look, "Hn, so Ka-c- Erm, Kagami-san doesn't talk about me?" He questions. Luckily, he only stumbled over his nickname for me... At least he knows better than to call me anything else but "Kagami" around my family...

"I never thought it was that important. And anyway, shouldn't you ask Tsukasa the same thing?" I counter, giving Matsuri as aggresive a look as I can give.

"Actually, yeah..." Inori muttered, giving Tsukasa a curious look, "Tsukasa, why did you invite someone over who you never bothered to to us all about?"

"W-Well... Kale-kun had called and asked if me and Onee-chan wanted to go out and get something to eat..." Tsukasa began to explain, blushing softly and looking pretty nervous. She twiddled her thumbs nervously, and avoided eye contact, "Kona-chan isn't home, so he had nowhere to go... But I had to help cook, so I just... Invited him over..."

I let out an audible sigh and gave Kale a displeased look, "Sheesh, so Konata isn't around for one day, and your whole world shatters?"

Kale's face puffed up in annoyance at that, and he looked at me pretty angrily, "H-Hey! I live alone and can't cook! I eat dinner at the Izumis', so when they aren't home I go hungry!"

"But didn't you call to see if we wanted to go out? Why didn't you just do that?" I ask. He's like... He's like Tsukasa! He relies on people a lot, like her, only she can at least help herself and cook!

"Hmph! Because I was invited over, of course!" He practically hisses in response, but he controls his voice. Heck, he even looks calmer. Nothing really seems to bother him for long, that's one good thing about him; His level-headedness. After the little outburst, he stares down at his plate and adds, in almost a whisper, "Besides... Who wants to eat alone? That's kind of, you know... Sad..."

Inori placed her hand across his shoulders and gave him a smile, then glanced at me, still smiling, "Don't worry, Kagami. We have enough food here to feed us all, there's no reason to argue."

Matsuri chuckled and gave me a grin, "Yeah, so you can invite your boyfriend over more often."

"EH!?" Kale exclaimed. Wow, he reacts fast... He looked between Matsuri and me, blushing, "B-Boyfriend!? You mean _me_!?"

"Who said he was my boyfriend!?" I question, hoping that the look of fury on my face makes my blush less noticeable. This is almost unbearable. I've been stressed since I woke up, and now _he_ had to come over and make things even worse! But, why am I blaming him? He hasn't even done anything yet...

"Oh?" Mom questioned, glancing at Kale before looking towards me, "You and Kale are that close?"

"_NO_!" I yell, shaking my head in an attempt to knock my blush into submission, "We're just friends!"

Of course, my bad luck wasn't through with me yet. Neither was Matsuri, who pointed her chopsticks at me, "Then why did I see you two cuddling in the living room?"

That question caused Inori, who had largely kept quiet, to comment, "Ooh, getting a bit risky, are we? Eh, Kagami?"

"Hehe... That would be my fault. Sometimes I get a bit lazy, and I don't feel like holding my head up, so... It just drifts to the closest shoulder." Kale admitted. Well, 'Admitted" would be a bad word; He was flat-out lying, but they wouldn't know that. I don't know why, but he's been oddly clingy lately...

Thankfully, Inori recognized our unease with the current topic, and tried to change it. She looked to Kale, "By the way, Kale, I have to ask you something..."

"Hm?" Kale muttered, as he always did when he was asked something. Surprisingly, that never gets old... He looked Inori in the eye, "Go ahead..."

"Well, it's your name... 'Kazehana'. The other day in Business Class our Professor spoke about a Kazehana Aori, who's currently one of the wealthiest men around..." Inori explained. The look in her eye suggested that she figured the answer would be 'No' to her question, but she asked it anyway, "Any relation?"

"Hn, of course..." Kale admitted, with a sigh. His eyes wandered from Inori to his plate, "He's my father."

"So, wait..." Matsuri said, putting down her chopsticks and giving Kale a pointed look, "You're the son of one of the richest men alive?"

"Well, yeah... But I've never actually met him, before you decide to ask me something about him." Kale answered. He actually managed to look Matsuri in the eye, though his embarrassed chuckle, and the way he nervously rubbed the back of his head, as well as his blush, gave away just how uncomfortable he was. And, I can't really blame him. I would be a bit uncomfortable with the subject, as well. But, he went on, "Inori-san probably knows more about him than I do."

"Yeah." I cut in, giving both my older sisters a 'Back off' look, "It's a touchy subject for him, so just move on."

"But wait..." Inori obviously wasn't finished yet. I held back a sigh. It's a fair trade; The spotlight comes off a supposed relationship, and in exchange Kale's questioned on his family a bit. Maybe I'll learn something about him. Kale didn't seem too happy, but didn't stop her from asking her question, "Do you look more like him, or your mother?"

"Mm, I guess my mother... I have her hair color, and apparently her nose and ears, whatever that means." Kale said, though he shuddered at the thought. I could figure out why, without him saying it; He's amazingly scared of and hateful towards his mother, but he's never been comfortable enough to tell us why. And Konata's no use, she just spouts some anime-related comparison.

"Your mom must be pretty amazing, then, considering how cute you turned out." Matsuri giggled. That was the last straw for me - A part of me knew she was kidding, but all of my stress and annoyance from the entire day just compounded on itself all at once, and I just couldn't take it.

I'm lying, really. I just want to get away. It was suffocating, dealing with all of this. Matsuri and her suspicions, Inori and her inability to see his uncomfortableness, Tsukasa and... Well, this _is_ technically her doing, and I am around her a bit too much. Have I ever had a day where I was able to get away from her? I have nothing against her, but sometime in my life I'd like to have _some_ space.

On top of it all, I'm just drained. I've spent all day doing chores, and helping everyone else do their own. I'm also the one that had to go out earlier and get a few things for dinner. And I _still_ have to study, and I _still_ have homework to do, _and _I'll have to send hours with Tsukasa to help her with her homework, and you can bet that Konata will be calling for help later, _too_. All before getting to bed at a reasonable time!

I pushed my seat back to give myself room, and I stand up. Everyone immediately stops what they're doing, and watch me, but I ignore them and simply walk away. Eventually I make it to my room, throw myself on my bed, then roll over and bury my face into the pillow. The anger is already practically gone... Sheesh, my bed is amazing. I'll have to apologize to everyone now. Especially Matsuri. I've been at her throat for the past week. Times like this, I wish I were more like Kale or Konata; I'd just shrug everything off. God, that's an amazing ability they have.

"Ka-chaan?" I hear Kale's muffled voice from behind my door, which is followed by a knock. For some reason, I expected him to be the one to come. To be honest, I wanted it to be him, too, _**only**_ because it's a lot different talking to a friend than talking to a family member you might have just offended...

"Mmgh..." I mutter into the pillow. Guess I should move my head before I talk, huh? I slowly lift my head, though I don't look to the door, "Come in."

I can hear the doorknob click as he twists it, but I don't hear the door open. It's a pretty quiet door, one of the only quiet things in the entire house. I then hear a pounding sound as he closes the door behind him, and a moment later I can hear him sighing.

And that was it. He just sat there, in the middle of the room, leaning back slightly and propping himself up with his arms so he could stare at the ceiling. Nothing more. He didn't say a word, though he would look at me from time to time. I could tell by the way his hair swayed when he tilted his head up so he could see me.

"Oy, you're just going to sit there and stare at me?" I question. Sure, he wasn't exactly staring; Hell, he was barely peeking. I just had to say something, and that was the first that came to mind.

"Mm? You'll speak when you're ready to, right? I know my Ka-chaan, if I push her she'll just push back." He responded, in a somewhat teasing tone. Augh, there he goes again, acting as if he's figured me out. But a part of me cringes at the fact that he's... he's actually _right_.

"You, you... Oh, what do you know!?" I stammer out. So I'm at a loss for words, that's completely natural! I then bury my head in the pillow again, and mutter, "I don't think you could understand..."

"Hn, don't understand _what_?" He questions, sounding somewhat offended. Well, he can sound it all he likes, but I know he'd just get over it right away anyway.

"This, my problem. You're just some laid-back rich kid who never gets stressed out and lives alone! How _could _you understand?!" I yelled. Maybe I shouldn't have, but I did. Well, he wanted a reaction, right? He wanted me to say something, and I did. I may be wrong for taking things out on him, but he asked for it.

"So because I live alone, I can't understand? My Ka-chaan has forgotten why I live alone, hasn't she?" He responded, and that teasing tone makes a comeback. Yeah, I remember. He moved away because of 'that cursed woman he calls 'Mother',' how could I forget?

"I just can't picture you being stressed out, Kale. Besides, you don't have any siblings..." I say, with a sigh. Just being reminded of his mom was enough to take away a lot of my bite. I've never met her before, but the total fear that becomes evident in his tiny body is enough to make anyone afraid to meet her, and it doesn't help that fearless Konata also seems slightly afraid of her.

"Of course, but I have money. I don't have to worry about much, as spoiled as that sounds, mm." He spoke slowly, as if he chose every word carefully. I couldn't help but giggle a bit. He _is_ pretty spoiled, but at the same time he isn't. It's odd. He accepts that he has money, and uses it to his advantage to get out of things, but he doesn't use it to help him in practical situations. Even his home isn't any more well-equipped for his Otaku-related obsessions than the Izumis'.

We sat in silence for a moment, and this time it wasn't me that broke the silence. Kale chuckled a bit, "You know, Ka-chaan, I kind of like it here with your family." He admitted. I turned to look at him, and notice he's smiling, though also blushing. Odd, seeing him like this...

"Wh-What do you mean?" I ask, a bit confused. Who would want to have my family? With all of the arguing and near-dysfunction, in the home that's hardly big enough to comfortable hold us all? He really is odd...

"Hn, it's like... I've never experienced eating with a large family. I mean, I eat at Mijikai's house every day, but that's just her, Sojiro-sama, and Hiyowai-chan." He explained. Well, that makes sense. I wonder what it's like to have a normal dinner with them. I always have Tsukasa with me whenever I eat over, and Izumi-san always goes off on some perverted fantasy. Kale obviously wouldn't have that problem. Of course, can the Izumis and the Kazehana brat _really_ come together and have a _normal_ dinner? Then again, dinner with just them sounds _fun_...

"But wouldn't that be better? I mean, there's less people, and they get along better than my family." I try to counter. Truth is, we really do get along. We just have moments where we're at each others' throat, because there's no space. We don't even have locks on our doors! It's ridiculous! And Dad always lets Matsuri and Inori get away with everything, while me and Tsukasa get picked apart. Especially with grades... Or maybe it's just me. Tsukasa doesn't do as well as me - Then again, only Miyuki does as well as I do.

"Hm? I guess. But, it wasn't all that bad today. I had fun, at least." Kale shrugged, which must have been awkward for him considering how he was sitting. Suddenly, he sat up and grabbed my arm, and gave me a soft tug, "Now, come on. The fun isn't over, and it wouldn't feel right without my Ka-chaan."

Augh, he's so... I don't even know the word for it! Is this what Konata means when she talks about 'moe'? She always says you wont understand 'moe' until you've discovered it for yourself. No, he can't be that. He just has his moments, that's all. Nothing special about him at all. Nope...

"Oh, fine..." I groan. As I pull myself to my feet, he hops up as well, grinning happily. I poke his chest, and wag the offending finger in his face playfully, "But only because you're my guest."

"Hn, Ka-chaan sure is a gracious host." He teases. Funny. I didn't even call you over, Kale, and now I'm your host? Better keep that to myself, I don't want to hear his logic to explain why I'm his host and not Tsukasa.

"Shut up." I hiss in response, trying to suppress a smile. With that, I make my way past him and head for the door, and a few moments later we're both in the living room. Matsuri, Inori, Tsukasa, and Mom are all sitting around the table with their attention focused on the TV. A part of me wants to just go lay down in my room some more, but I can sense Kale standing behind me...

"Why don't we put on a gameshow or something?" Mom suggested. I smiled at that. It's funny, Dad had made us watch all those gameshows when we were younger to get us into a more educated frame of mind. I don't know if it worked, but since then we've all become somewhat hooked on them.

"Oh, yeah, there's supposed to be this really interesting one starting today..." Inori began to talk about what she had heard. I tuned her out, trying to figure out what I'd say to them all. Besides, if it was decided to watch it, I'd learn what it's supposed to be about anyway, right? And if not, it's best I didn't know anyway.

Not being that patient, probably because he was being forced to stand, Kale slipped past me and began to approach the others. He then stopped, and gasped, "Matsuri-chan is taking the last of the pocky!"

"Whoops, sorry. Did you want one?" Matsuri teased. Kale slowly walked over, sulking in what I can only imagine he considered defeat, and Matsuri placed the pocky stick in her mouth by the tip. She wiggled the end, as if she were teasing him - A lot like what Kale himself does with his dango sticks.

Big mistake. Kale was already right next to her, and he was quick enough to bend down and clamp his teeth down on the opposite end. An audible crack followed, and the two pulled their faces away from one another with a half of the pocky stick in their mouth.

"Hn, did Matsuri-chan expect me to let her get away with the last snack?" Kale teased, taking a seat next to her. Well, only _he_ would do that, right? Who else has the guts? Not even Konata would do that... Would she?

"N-No, actually." Matsuri was blushing furiously, though she did manage to get a good laugh out of it. I should invite Kale over more often, I've never seen her blush before, and never before have we all laughed like this together.

"Hey, Kagami, come and take a seat." Inori called to me. Looks like she just noticed me.

"Well, uh..." I look at Matsuri and cringe. Augh, I didn't even do anything to her today, but I still feel wrong for giving her a hard time all week. But why do I care now? Maybe just being reminded of Kale's total lack of a family made me guilty about treating my own like crap.

I was so caught up in my own personal thoughts that I didn't even notice Matsuri turning back and giving me a smile, "Yeah, Kagami, come on. Don't just stand there."

The look in her eyes, and from everyone else, told me that I didn't need to say anything. With nothing more than a slight nod, I walk over and take a seat next to Tsukasa. A glance at Kale revealed that he was giving me a big smile, but I shrugged him off... I still have to thank him later. Looks like even his type can be useful from time to time.


	13. Chapter 13

Yikes, late update. Sorry...

Uhm... Yeah. Tried to expand on two characters a bit here. And figured I'd exploit a little fact about Kale...

Meh, not much to say.

**Hiyori's PoV**

Ah, Math class. The perfect class for me to catch up on sleep in. Staying up all night to draw my latest bout of ideas was a lot of fun, but going to sleep only to wake up an hour later wasn't. Man, this teacher can talk. We've already been on the same subject for two weeks, and we all understand it, but he's sticking with it...

It's only been ten minutes, but my head is already starting to feel heavy. I feel my eyes slowly closing, and I'm only able to muster up the energy to hold them open for a few moments at a time. My hand is sore from drawing the excessive amount of extremely detailed pictures just a few hours ago, and that makes taking notes painful. Doesn't help that I've taken these notes three times already...

I hold back a yawn, but it's easy to see that I've already lost this fight. No need to continue fighting, huh? I raise both my hands to my face and slowly slip off my glasses -- Sleeping with them on is irritating, after all. Very carefully, I set them on the side of my desk. Gotta take care of these, they're my lifeline. I'm practically blind without them, and if I can't see, I can't draw. Dare I say my glasses are as important to my work as a mangaka as my drawing arm?

Before I even realize it my head is cradled in my arms, and I'm drifting off again. Yikes, I'm this bad after only missing a single night of sleep? Guess you can learn something new about yourself at any time. And it seems the teacher is too involved with the board to notice, lucky me.

But my inner-mangaka refuses to rest, and a barrage of mental images assault my sleepy brain. Specifically, of two girls in various romantic situations... Ai, why did I have to discover Minami and Yutaka in my first year? It's their fault I'm so tired right now! After all, they motivated me to draw all night, due to their relationship-in-denial-style friendship...

And then one specific image became stuck in my head. Minami and Yutaka, sitting on the beach... Urgh, I can't describe it! I have to draw it, before I lose the image! Besides, the teacher is making his way down the aisle of desks, and I'd rather not get caught snoozing.

My head shoots up, and my arms swing to the sides of the desk - One reaching for my pencil and the other heading for my bag to get piece of drawing paper. It didn't even register that my glasses were knocked off the desk by my arm, but I did notice it was missing a moment later. Before I could so much as react to it being gone, the teacher walked by, and...

_**Crack!**_

And now here I am, walking down the halls towards my second class. My glasses are held together in the middle by a collection of tape, which a boy in the class let me use for repairs. But the left side is a network of cracks that I can't see through at all, though luckily the other side is perfectly fine. My little group of friends had already made it to class, but I had strayed behind to pack up after repairing my glasses. Broken glasses and late to class, just perfect, huh? My wrist still hurts, too...

The hallways are empty since everyone is in class, which gives the whole place an odd feeling. I almost feel compelled to not go to class, but I know I have to - Doesn't mean I have to walk quickly, though. After all, English is _not_ fun. I close my eyes as I walk - Hey, my glasses are already broken, and I have nobody to talk to, so what does it matter if I don't pay attention? Besides, maybe if I rest my eyes I'll be able to stay up through class...

Even though my eyes are closed I know when to turn to the right and go down a seperate hallway. This is nice, being all alone in school. As much as I adore my friends, especially Patricia and Konata, I can't help but hold these moments of silence to be precious. Home is pretty quiet, too. It's just me and mom, after all, but all the noise at school makes me really appreciate this.

It's also helping me ignore my glasses dilemma. My mom won't be happy to see the damage, she's just going to flip out and yell. I can't blame her, though. This is the second time this year. I'm just unlucky. But what can I do about that, anyway? It's not my fault... I just hope she pays for a new pair of glasses...

I stop and lean against the wall. Really, I don't want to go to class. It'd just be a hassle with my glasses like this. I'm basically half-blind now, and if I take them off I won't be able to see _anything_. Not like I'm trying to make excuses if I decide to just leave or anything...

And now I'm at the hallway leading to my classroom, but I don't _really_ want to go... Well, taking an extra five minutes to walk around the long way won't hurt, would it? I'll just do that. Besides, English is easy, I won't fall behind or anything. Despite how I've been acting today, I'm really a good student, so I'm not worried about missing a class here and there. I still do good in the long run.

The walk around takes me longer than I thought. Wow, were the halls always this long? I haven't been to this part of the school very often, so my memory must be pretty bad. See, I have a horrible memory. Things need to be deleted to make room for more yuri, after all. Come to think of it, I haven't seen much of this school at all, other than my classes. Yutaka and Minami have seen much more than me, since they constantly track down Konata and her little group of friends.

Speaking of that group of friends, that Kale hangs out with them, too. How come they get a boy, but we don't? Especially a _shota_! How come they get a shota _and a loli_ and all we get is a loli!?

My thoughts are cut short by a loud, obnoxious ring. Oh god, that can't be what I think it is... Don't tell me I completely missed English! Ugh, that's why my legs are so sore, I've been walking in circles for an entire period! Well, no use in standing around here. Besides, the halls will be packed soon, so I'd better hurry up...

Of course, I don't really hurry up. I just walk a bit faster for a few steps, and then fall back into my typical speed. By the time I get to the classroom the bell is ringing.

"At least I get to sit down and doodle..." I mutter to myself, scanning the classroom for my friends. Well, it is lunchtime, and this is the classroom we stay in for lunch, they should be here. Ugh, don't tell me I lost them! Well, I'm not going anywhere, I've been walking for a while, and I'm still tired.

As I walk to a random, empty seat I hear a familiar voice call out my name, which causes me to stop. A quick scan of the room - again - brings Patricia into my view. Oh, so there she is. Didn't notice her without Yutaka clinging to Minami next to her...

"You sure took your sweet time, Hiyori." Patricia teases me as I approach, most likely because she guess that I skipped class. Well, she would be right then. I swear, she knows me too well...

"Hey Patty-chan." I respond as I slide into the seat next to her. I feel my head wobble a bit, and I resist the urge to just let it fall onto the desk. And then finally something registers. After a little thought, I look over to Patty, "Oh, where are Yutaka and Minami?"

"Yutaka didn't feel well, so Minami took her the Nurse's Office." Patty explained, smiling brightly. Just two months ago we wouldn't speak so casually about this, but we've grown used to the fact that Yutaka constantly gets sick. Poor little girl, at least Minami's always there for her.

"So did you get any work done last night?" Patricia asked. Oh, that dreaded question. She knew I was planning to get some artistic work done before getting some sleep, since I haven't gotten _any_ drawings even started in over a week.

"Yeah, I did. Not very much, though. I got a bit distracted with minor details, and..." I caught myself. Patty doesn't know or understand what I'm about to go on about. It'd be best no to bug her. With a smile, I end with, "W-Well, you know how it goes with me."

Before Patty could respond, a loud, obnoxious screech rang throughout the school. Ugh, that can't be what I think it is... The fire alarm? There can't be a fire. There's _never_ a fire in a school, after all. Must be a fire drill, then. Well, better get going.

Both me and Patty sigh as we stand up - We had just gotten comfortable, or at least _I _had just gotten comfortable. This is annoying, I _don't_ want to walk anymore! I manage to hold in my despair as me, Patty, and the rest of the school 'quickly' make our way to the nearest exists and disperse around the school. Better find a place to sit...

It doesn't take me very long to find a bench around the school, and I practically drag Patty over. Luckily for me there's enough free space for me to sit, but not enough for Patty. Too bad for her. My day's been a big disappointment, I'm staying right here.

And then I heard a familiar voice from behind Patty, "Oi, Patty-chaaan..." Oh my, I haven't heard that voice in forever. It's Konata's little shota!

Patty turned around and looked at him, her smile never going away, "Oh, Shota-kun, it's been a while. How've you been?"

"Hn, seperated from the group..." He muttered, shifting his gaze from Patty and towards the floor, "Typical of my luck.

"Lost your friends then, Shota-kun?" I question. The moment I start speaking he tenses up and immediately looks at me, as if he just realized I was there.

"Oi, Tsu-san lost herself in the crows, so Mijikai-chan went to find her. And Yuki-san isn't in class today. Ka-chaan is stuck with Misao-san and Ayano-chan, too, which leaves me all alone..." He explains, sounding a bit more irritated than upset. Well, I know I'd be irritated, too.

"But couldn't you have just went with Kona-chan?" Patty pointed out. Hehe, typical Patty-chan, always quick to point things out at the wrong time.

Kale let out a sigh, shifting his gaze from myself to Patty, "I considered it, but I figured she'd be back by now." He answered. Makes me wonder what he's more upset over - Being wrong, or being alone. And... Why is he staring at me?

"Wh-what?" I stammer out, feeling my face heat up in a blush. W-Why would he be staring at me?!

"What happened? Who damaged my Hiyori-chan's glasses?!" He blurted out, getting a bit worked up over it. I could tell that he was honest in his concern, and that caused me to blush even more.

"Oh, that... That just happened today. That's what I get for sleeping in class." I answer, letting out a nervous chuckle. Heh, I must sound like such a ditz...

"I can relate..." He said, rubbing the back of his head and letting out a shudder, "Kuroi-sensei sure hits hard..."

Patty giggled a bit and placed her hand on his shoulder, "Do you really get hit as much as Kona-chan says?"

"Hn, Kuroi-sensei hits me out of love, that's all." He responds, with his typical grin. I love how he's so egotistical at times. Does he even realize not all girls are shotacons? I doubt it. And then his voice knocks me out of my thoughts, "Nn, I was going to ask if you wanted to come with me to the cosplay cafe later, Hiyori-chan, but you need to get new glasses... Right?"

"Sadly, yeah..." I sigh, "I need it to draw!"

"Well, Hiyori-chan _does_ need to draw more yuri..." Kale mutters, looking away as a blush formed on his cheeks. Figures he'd be into yuri, but it's reassuring to know I don't have to hide it.

"Yes! You haven't gotten very much done lately." Patty pointed out, poking my arm playfully. Didn't we already have this conversation, Patty? Nngh...

"I got a lot done last night! That's why I'm so tired..." I explain, holding back yet another sigh, "And anyway, we'll have to see about the glasses. If my mom doesn't give me the money then I can't get them."

"That's true. But why wouldn't she, Hiyori-chan?" Patty asked, looking a bit worried. Well, it's a good question. At least I know they're worried.

"Oh, no reason... I'm just not the most responsible person with these kinds of things. I'm sure you know that already." I explain, smiling nervously. Seriously, I must have broken these glasses twice in the time I've known Patty. And not in random accidents, either. Seriously embarrassing ways. Such a klutz...

"Hmmm..." Kale murmured to himself, bringing both me and Patty to focus on him again, "Okay, let's go."

"Go?" Patty asks.

"Where are we going?" I add, giving him a curious look. He's so random, worse than Kona-chan can get. It's... Scary. Yet oddly amusing...

Kale reached over and tugged on my sleeve a bit in an attempt to get me to stand up, "Why, to get Hiyori-chan glasses, of course."

What an odd response. Buying me glasses? I mean, sure, I'm close friends with the cousin of his best friend, and sure we've had a few... _Moments_... But is that enough of a reason? I've never had someone make such an offer, except for my mom, so I guess it could be. Not like I'd know either way. But then again, my mom...

"But if I cut class to ask her she definitely won't pay for them!" I practically yell, pulling my arm back in one quick movement to free it of his grasp.

"That's why I'm paying, silly Hiyori-chan." He said, with a chuckle.

"Wh-What!? _You're_ paying!?" I manage to stammer out. Why would he pay? I haven't done anything for him, and now this?! He's so odd...

He turned to Patty and smiled, "Oh, and Patty-chan is coming, too."

"Wait, why am I invited?" She questions.

"Of course. Can't let Hiyowai-chan and Minami-san ignore you all day when you can be with us, mm?" He explains. His logic is actually flawless...

"So even you know they're like that? Well, that's not too odd, since you live across the street..." I stand up as I speak, slinging my bag over my shoulder. Well, if he's willing to pay, then I don't have to tell my mom...

"Too bad this couldn't wait..." Patty sighs. We both give her curious glances, which causes her to give us a nervous smile, "O-Oh, I'm hungry, I wanted to eat lunch..."

"Hn, Patty-chan doesn't have to worry. I'm hungry, too. Don't worry, everything's on me today." Kale nods in assurance.

"Looks like Shota-kun is pretty generous." Patty commented. Gotta agree there...

"Well, what good is money if I only spend it on myself, mm?" He shrugged it off. I like this kid...

We didn't for much longer before we made our way away from the crowd and towards the train station. I would have preferred if I got to stay and sit a bit longer, but they were going to head inside soon and it would be harder to sneak away without everyone standing around. After we made it to the train station we had a short discussion on what exactly we were going to do, and we decided to go and get my glasses before eating. And then it was up to me to lead us to the optometrist. The trip wasn't too long, and we were mostly silent - I'm pretty sure I dozed off, and I know Kale did. Poor Patty had to make sure we didn't miss our stop. Lucky that he brought her along - Wait! Is that why he wanted her to come?! That sneaky little shota...

And now here we are, sitting in the Optometrist's office, waiting for him to see me...

--

**Patricia's PoV**

Well, luckily for Hiyori the optometrist was able to see her right away. Apparently students make up most of her clients, so during a school day she's mostly free. Unluckily for us, Hiyori's good luck confined us to a dreaded area; The waiting room. It was a pretty big room, with a long couch against the wall, with a small table on either side. Off to the corner was a pretty huge chair, with ridiculously soft pillows. How do I know? Well, when Kale jumped into the seat he was practically eaten alive by the pillows. Then again, he _is_ small, it wouldn't be too hard to have that effect on him.

We sat there in silence for a few moments, though I tried to entertain myself by thumbing through a magazine on one of the tables. There was nothing anime-related, though, so I wasn't really very interested. I had just thought Kale had fallen asleep like he's so well known for doing until he spoke up, "Hn, it's always boring in the waiting room..."

"So, you spend a lot of time waiting for doctor appointments?" I ask in response. Interesting... Maybe he's closer to Yutaka than I thought, maybe he takes her to the hospital when she's really sick? Or maybe he's closer to Konata?

He taps his finger against chin once, staring up at the ceiling for a moment before turning to me, "Well, not a lot. Mijikai-chan doesn't get sick, and I'm afraid of doctors so I never go to the hospital when I get sick." Heh, typical...

"You were in America for a year, weren't you? Were you able to go to the hospital there?" I question, aiming to probe a bit deeper. Hiyori seems to like him, maybe if I can bring her a few bits of information she could use it to her advantage, that kinky little girl.

The question causes him to look a bit irritated. He folded his arms and leaned back in the chair, which reminds me of a grumpy little kid, "Hmph, it's even worse there! Whenever you see a doctor all they want to do is stab a needle in your arm or shove a million pills down your throat! It's horrible!"

"Yeah, that sounds about right." I admit, chuckling a bit. Well, I never said I come from a perfect country. In fact, I much prefer it here. I get my anime and manga quicker! Speaking of manga, "If only life were like manga, we could just skip the doctor and have the medicine already!"

"That would be great. Just turn the page and you're done..." He slowly waves his hand in front of him, as if he were actually turning the page in a book. After a glance at the clock he turns back to me, "Ngh, how long does this normally take?"

"I've never been here with Hiyori before, because I always have work when she has to go. I really have no idea..." I respond, sighing. We have been waiting here for a while. Wonder what could be taking so long...

"Well, concentrating on this won't make the time go by any faster, right?" He chuckles a bit as he presses his back into the chair more. God, how comfortable can a person get? Well, I guess I can take a page out of his book, since nobody else is here. I lay down on the couch, with my head towards him - After all, don't want to give him any free shots up my skirt, do I? After I get comfy he speaks up again, "So Patty-san, you're here on an exchange program, right?"

"It's actually a bit odd. This is my first year of High School, but my parents signed me up for a program that would send me here if I did well enough on their tests." I explained, folding my arms across my belly and closing my eyes, "I don't really know why. Maybe it's because Japanese schools generally have higher standards than American schools."

"Mm, I noticed that much... So! That means if you keep doing well they'll let you stay, right? I mean, what' the point of sending you here for just _one_ year?" He sure seems excited. Then again, Yutaka did say Konata calls him clingy_ all _the time. Don't see why that wouldn't extend to a psych- Woah, lets not analyze my friends here. At least, not yet. I want to at least get him on the couch and myself in the chair before I begin that.

"Exactly! As long as I keep my grades high enough they'll keep me here. That's why I only have a part-time job, I can't afford to blow classes and miss precious studying time." I continue to explain. It's good to have this conversation with someone who isn't freaking out. Once the others realized I would eventually have to leave they all assumed it was at the end of this year, and they basically... Well, freaked out.

"Ooh, and American High Schools are four years long, while High Schools here are only three years long, so you'll be out a year sooner!" He points out, sounding a bit excited. Well, I'd be lying if I didn't say I absolutely _love_ that part.

"I get to take a year off before I go to college and I still get to with my Junior High friends. Great, huh?" I say, feeling myself grin slightly. It's actually pretty awesome. I get all this time in this awesome country, and then I go home and have a year of relaxation, and _then_ I get to spend my college years with my old friends.

"Mhm. But can your parents afford to send you to college? You can't really get the good scholarshops if you're going to school way out here." He acts like I haven't thought this all out. Unlike Konata and most likely Hiyori, I've given my future a lot of thought. Helps that I don't have parents literally forcing me to decide it on the dot.

"I suppose if I get a good scholarship here, they'll let me apply for a college here and everything. I sure hope they do." Seriously, parents ruin everything. But then again, they let me come here, so mine can't be that bad.

"Your parents are pretty wealthy to afford sending you back and forth between countries like this, aren't they?" Gee, he seems a bit happy at that idea. Don't want to be the only rich kid, Shota-kun? Ah well, truthfully the program paid for all of this. Don't want to shatter his ideal world, though.

"I suppose. They probably won't be too happy if I get into a _really_ expensive college, even if I get a really good scholarship." I answer, adding a shrug at the end. Sadly, it's true.

"Hn, that's odd. Shouldn't parents be happy over that? Expensive colleges are usually really good." Thank you for agreeing with me. My parents are _odd_.

"Yeah, but they're really protective of their money. I know they'll pay if they can, but at the same time I don't want to burden them." I sigh, rubbing my forhead. I hate asking them for money. Always have, ever since I was a kid. That look they get whenever I ask is so... Cringe-inducing.

"Hn, the problem for me is that _I_ have to get into a good college. 'Else my dad will be disappointed in me..." He huffs, his eyes wandering from me over to the floor. Geez, this kid has some major mood swings. Perhaps issues with his par- Gah! Said I wouldn't do this!

"But I thought you hardly even knew him. At least, that's what Yutaka and Kona-chan tell us. Why are you so worried about what he thinks?" I question. Hey, even if I won't analyze doesn't mean I'm not curious.

"Hmm, that's true. Truth is, I probably don't even need to go to college or anything. I have enough money saved up to support myself for the rest of my life, with a staggering amount to spare." He shrugs, his eyes now wandering to the ceiling, "But, it's my old man, y'know? I guess it's a guy thing to want to show him up, mm."

"Hmm..." Well, there's not much I can say to that, "Well, good luck!"

"Heh, gonna need a lot of that..." He chuckles. At least he's easy to make laugh. Goes back to the mood swings...

"By the way, we have a lot of time after Hiyori gets out of here, so..."

"Mm?"

I roll over onto my belly and give him a bright smile, REmember when we said you had to take us out shopping?"

"Nngh..."

Kale hadn't even come to terms with the thought of taking two women shopping by the time Hiyori was freed from the optometrist. However, the very moment he saw her he practically jumped out of his seat, and I can't tell if it was due to seeing her, or due to the fact that we finally get to leave this place. Aw, I don't want to leave this couch. I just got comfy... Ah well...

Well, nothing really happened while we shopped. We basically dragged Kale on a girls'-day-out, poor little Shota-kun. I know he loved it when we modeled a few outfits for him. Especially when one of the skirts was a bit too big on Hiyori, and... Well, you can guess how that ended. Poor girl lit up like a light. Then again, so did our Shota-kun. He tried to not look too much, but I won't hold it against him.

After we had bought a few outfits we stopped at Animate for a handful of manga. Well, 'we' would be the wrong term to use. 'He' bought it all for us. After all, he did say he would handle the expenses, right? Well, at least we didn't go completely crazy, though we did get a bit spendy. Hey, at least he could afford it. He didn't even really care about the numbers that were popping up as everything was scanned, he just swiped his card, signed his name, and distributed the bags amongst us.

And then after that, we went for 'lunch'. Kale took us to a rather expensive looking place, and we sat down for a nice meal. He was quick to point out that he hardly ever goes to places like this, and that he was only doing it for us, but the food was good enough for neither me or Hiyori to really care.

"Hnn, good dango always makes my day..." Kale muttered, chewing on the tip of a dango stick in his mouth. We had just left the restaurant and were now heading to the trains to head home.

"You're addicted, aren't you?" Hiyori asked in a teasing glance, practically struggling to lift the heavy shopping bags. Something tells me that if she didn't have those bags to carry she'd be hugging that new sketchpad against her body, or at least hugging out Shota-kun.

"Hehe, you could say that..." He responded with a low chuckle, grinning a bit and rubbing the back of his head. Yup, he's an odd one, alright, but he's definitely got the Shota thing going on as well as Konata has the Loli thing going on.

"Well, Kona-chan is really into those choco-cornets, right?" I ask. Me and Hiyori don't each lunch with her often, so we wouldn't know. She always has one when she eats with us, though...

By now we're already waiting for the train, and luckily enough it pulls in and we board. Our luck is further proven to be excellent when we find that the traincar we've chosen is completely empty, giving us a lot of seats. Hiyori took a seat at the end of a row, with Kale next to her, and myself on his other side. Both Hiyori and myself let out a sigh of relief, as we're finally able to put our bags down.

"Oh yeah, by the way..." Hiyori mutters, blushing a bit. Both Kale and I look at her, and she quickly leans over and gets him in a tight hug, "Thanks for the glasses..."

"Hehehe..." I let out a small giggle, getting the small, surprised teen in a hug as well, "And thanks for paying for everything."

As soon as I hugged him I pulled away, but Hiyori stayed latched on, "I still feel bad that you had to pay for the glasses... Don't worry, I'll pay you back!"

"Nn, don't worry. You don't have to." Kale responds. His voice apparently knocks Hiyori back to reality and she releases him from the hug, but he's leaning against her a bit now. She's blushing, but I know she doesn't mind. Dare I say she likes it? Heh...

"I know, but I'd feel better about this if I did." She's trying to look away, but she's not trying to _get_ away. Cripes, this kid is good...

"Hm... Well, you draw a lot of yuri, right?" He brazenly declares, giving her a big grin. Geez, she's that well known for it? She's never shown him... Or has she? I don't know.

That caused Hiyori to blush even more, though now she was able to make eye contact, "I supp-... Yes." She sighs in defeat. Heh, she knows she can't even try to hide it.

"Hiyori gets a lot of inspiration, too!" I point out. Anything to make a situation more uncomfortable for her! After all, that's when things get interesting!

That caused Hiyori to blush _even more_, as if that was even possible, "I'd rather not talk about _that_ part..."

Aw, Hiyori, you don't want to talk about how you use your closet-lesbian friends for inspiration in your graphic yuri-doujins? For shame...

"Well, how about this! You sell it, right? Well, why don't just send a few my way and we'll call it even?" He suggests.

"Oh yes, Kona-chan did say you're a bit into yuri..." I comment, remembering a past conversation. That's actually a pretty good deal. Looks like he got something from his business-endowed father.

"Hn, she only said 'a bit'?" Kale huffs, looking a bit offended, "Mijikai-chan doesn't know the depth of my obsession, it seems..."

Geez, Shota-kun. Tell me you don't think of your friends like that, like Hiyori does.

"Well, it's good to know I at least have a fan..." Hiyori smiles. Three, Hiyori... Me and Konata, too! Ah well, I'll let her have her moment...

"So, is it a deal?" He questions, hope evident in his eyes.

"Y-Yeah, sure!" Hiyori nodded furiously. Glad that little financial weight is off your shoulders, huh, Hiyori? Well, I sure would be, too.

"Nn, oh yeah... Do me a favor..." Kale glanced between us, his tone dead-serious.

"What is it, Shota-kun?" I ask, a bit worried now. Sheesh, what has him so worked up?

"First, _never_ refer to me by that around Mijikai-chan, she's trying to nickname me." He sighs, "And... Don't mention this little venture to her either, mm. She'll drag me out for another venture with just her, and-..."

He just stops... Huh? What is it, Shota-kun? Imagining what you can do with everyone's favorite loli? Looking for a little peepshow from her, too? You're definitely one of us...

He blushes a deep blush, chuckling nervously, "Heheh... Actually... Mind letting it slip to her?"

You perverted little boy... _Definitely _one of us.


	14. Chapter 14

Okay, so... Short chapter, and late. My fault, I was too lazy to update on time. Anyway, I kept this one short because I wasn't sure if I could capture Konata's character very well, and I honestly don't think I did a very good job. Oddly enough, there is a big difference between writing for her and writing for Kale...

And I figured with this chapter I should get everything started with the relationships. I can't keep on with just teasing here and there forever, right? Anyway, the actions in this chapter in no way hint towards anything, they just provide some buildup in case I decide to go the Konata route. And yes, I'm still undecided. It's between Kagami and Konata at this point...

For the record - The next three chapters may be late. They require a lot of thought, and time is starting to escape me, so... Yeah.

Oh, and new proofreader today. Trust her well enough to not give it a proofread of my own. Mistakes aren't on me now.

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**Konata's PoV**

Ah, cooking class. A class where I get to really shine. It's not P.E.—I don't get sweaty and tired out—so I have no reason to complain. I cook a lot at home, and even sometimes cook at work, even though I'm just a waitress, so I really know my stuff. It helps that this class focuses mainly on treats, which interests me.

And we get to wear more comfortable clothes. The sailor outfit has a certain fetish-y appeal to it, but these puffy clothes are just more comfortable, even with the apron tied on a bit too tight.

"Hn, cooking..." Kale groans, his head hanging in despair. With a sigh he adds, "I hate this class."

"You do? Then why did you sign up for it?" Kagamin questions, bored, twirling a strand of hair from her pigtails around her finger. Sometimes I wonder if she does things simply to look cute, like Kale, or just doesn't realize what she's doing, like Miyuki...

"Well, I'm not really good at cooking and stuff. And I live alone, so... You know. Heh, I can't live off Mijikai-chan forever, right?" Kale answers—or, Kale lies. Like he isn't planning on mooching off of my cooking for the rest of his life. Every meal is a chance to raise flags; he'd never miss such a chance willingly.

"That's a pretty good reason, but you can't complain if you're willingly taking the class." Kagami points out, speaking... bluntly. But then again, Tsunderes aren't known for sugarcoating things.

Time to strike. I spin around to face Kale and Kagamin, now walking backwards down the empty hall, "But Kale-kun, didn't you tell me that you accidentally signed up for the class? Wasn't it something about 'Too many choices so you just chose something random and got this'?"

"Eh!?" Kagami gasps in surprise, quickly giving Kale a death glare, "Then what was that you just told me!?"

Kale focuses his gaze off of Kagami, looking straight ahead and right past me, with a pretty annoyed expression, "Hmph, who expects to get such a dreaded class in that kind of situation anyway, mm? There were a good three dozen options!"

"But it's your own fault!" Kagamin yells, obviously aggravated. So emotional, Kagami, we really need to work on that. But then again, that contributes to your moe-ness...

"Hn..." Kale barely responds.

I slow down until Kale is walking next to me and spin so we're both facing the same way again as we walk. "It can't be that bad," I say, leaning against him with my head on his shoulder, "After all, you get to share class with us, right?"

Even though our position makes it hard for me to see his face I can tell he's blushing. He's very shy, so he's easy to make blush. Makes me wonder where the perversion came from. It's kind of out of place. Or maybe the shyness is... Why must you be so odd, Kale-kun?

We walk in silence for a few minutes, neither of us moving from our position and Kagamin keeping quiet—most likely too mad at Kale for lying to say anything. Once we reach the classroom I pull away and head in first, claiming the seat next to Miyuki. Kagami quickly snatches up the seat next to Tsukasa, which leaves Kale standing between us without a seat. You see, the classroom is divided up into desks designed for two people each. That wasn't a problem last year, but Kale became the fifth member of our group, and also the one without a partner. He wordlessly disappears to the back of the class in search of a seat...

It only took the teacher ten minutes to lay out the assignment; Valentine's Day is soon, so she wants us to make something Valentine's related to get us in the mindset of the holiday. Not too hard. Besides, this is where I excel...

"Hm... I kind of want to make something with chocolate," I say to Miyuki. Everyone else was already mobilizing, aiming to get all their stuff ready, but not us. I prefer to think before I act when it comes to cooking.

"Valentine's Day is coming up, so it's kind of fitting," Miyuki says, smiling brightly like she always does.

"Everyone in my house loves chocolate, so it's best if I stick with that," I point out. We get to take the stuff we make home, so it's true that I'd better stick with what I know will be a hit.

"How gracious of you," Miyuki says as she takes out all the utensils we'll need. Oh Yuki-san, you say that now, but you don't realize you're much more giving than anyone else, you odd, overly-developed girl...

"I aim to please," I say as I get up to head to the front of class to get the required ingredients...

A good twenty minutes later, we're well along in our class project. Miyuki suggested heart-shaped cookies, and the idea was a bit too fitting to turn down. We both stood at the desk, staring into a bowl of melted chocolate.

"So I was thinking, why not give them a vanilla core?" I suggest. "Everyone loves vanilla."

"But Kona-chan, wouldn't that be overdoing it?" Miyuki questions, looking a bit worried. Ah, is that her 'But I really don't know what I'm doing if we try that...' look?

"Possibly. But then again, aren't vanilla and chocolate made to be together?" I question. Well, if I'm wrong, then it's news to me...

"Perhaps. It definitely sounds like a good idea," Miyuki admits. She gives it a moment of thought before turning to me and smiling, "Let's do it, then."

"O-Oh! Kale-san, watch ou-!" Ayano yells, calling our attention across the classroom.

I didn't quite catch what happened, because it all happened so fast. All I know is there was a crash, and now Kale is sitting on the ground with a bowl previously full of melted chocolate turned over on his head. Completely covered in chocolate, he is. I've never wanted someone as much as I want him right now—except maybe Kagamin when she's being all super-moe...

It's too good to pass up. I walk up to him and bend down to eye-level with him, using a finger to carefully lift the bowl up just enough so he can see me. With a soft giggle I say, "Kale-kun enjoys his chocolate too much."

"Mijikai-chan should back away before I make a choco-taku out of her, mm..."

Try me, shorty...

"Only you would manage to spill chocolate on yourself like that." Kagami scolds Kale as she hands him a towel. Kagami, Kale, and I are currently sitting in a corner of the room. The teacher had asked Kagamin to help Kale clean himself up, and I offered to help her. The reason being obvious: to get out of work. Our partners teamed up with Ayano, who was in a bad position after she lost both the chocolate and her partner. In the end, we all win.

"Nn, but it was heavy, and the chocolate kept moving around! It just tipped over, I couldn't do anything!" Kale complained, accepting the towel as he did. As soon as he finished speaking he threw the towel over his head and began to furiously rub it into his scalp. Hehe, he sure has fast hands... Wonder what they'd fee—Wait, what?

"You're even worse than Kagamin at this kind of stuff, Kale-kun. That's pretty surprising," I comment, with an aura of superiority. Kagamin's got nothing on me in this class!

My comment earned me a glare from Kagami, "Just what are you implying!?"

"Oi, you two bicker too much..." Kale sighs, peeling the now-chocolate-covered towel off of his head. He took a moment to stare at it, seemingly annoyed, before turning back to us, "Just don't kill yourselves while I'm gone, mm."

"Eh?" I turn to him, confused, "You're leaving?"

"Mm? Isn't it obvious?" He responds, pointing to his chocolate-stained purple hair, "I have to go wash up. I can't be here with my hair smelling like chocolate all day."

"That's true..." Kagamin admits. Hehe, that sounded like it for you to do, my lovely Tsundere...

"Besides..." Kale grins, poking my arm playfully. Oi, that's so annoying. As I try to swat his hands away he continues, "Me covered in chocolate, who knows what you'd do to me?"

I return his grin. "Good point." And then I jab his arm with a finger. "But I'd be more worried about what you'd do to yourself."

"Hn..." He huffs, looking away. I love when he gets offended. So cute...

"Aw, did I strike a nerve?" I tease, though for once I do it without getting all up against him. You can't cuddle with a guy covered in chocolate. Well, I could... But I would regret it in the long run.

"Ngh... I should get going."

The rest of the day went by pretty quickly. Since we didn't have to worry about or wait for Kale between classes, everything seemed to fly by. It was just like old times, from when he was away. To be honest, it was kind of odd. I keep expecting him to just pop up like he always does. He's good at that... Odd, I miss him. I didn't really miss him that much when he was gone; that's not to say I was glad he was gone, but I just got used to it. Eh, I guess I'm just too used to him being around _all the time_ now.

Well, lunch came pretty quickly. Miyuki and Tsukasa slid their desks over to me, as well as a spare desk for when Kagamin made it. We normally scoot over to Miyuki, but I'm out of commission from a pretty big lump on my head courtesy of Kuroi-sensei...

"It sure is odd to not have him around. I actually kinda miss his purple tsunami of hair taking over the corner desk," Kagami comments as she takes the seat next to me, staring at the single empty chair in the classroom. Hey, at least I'm not alone, right?

"Hehe, his hair wasn't so purple when he left..." I chuckle, giving Kagamin a playful poke. She just rolls her eyes and looks away. So antisocial at times, those Tsunderes...

"Poor Kale-kun, he'll probably smell like chocolate for a few days..." Tsukasa says with a sigh. Gee, she really does feel sorry for the guy. Little does she know, he'd absolutely love that...

"Nah, he's probably drowning himself in a flood of shampoo right now," I point out. Well, he'd love it, but he'd also hate it. He'd have a constant appetite for chocolate, after all. I turn to Tsukasa and continue. "You probably can't tell by looking at him, but he's diligent with his appearance."

"Eh? Then why does he have his hair long?" Kagami questions, sounding a bit annoyed. She gave me a glance, "Does he even brush it?"

"Hm... Well, I do sometimes, and then he does it for me," I answer, running my hands through my hair as I do. Come to think of it, I have to coax a brush into his hand again sometime soon. He actually does it better than I do...

"Are you sure you two aren't related?" Kagamin teases. Ew, being so close to a sibling. Even I'm not into incest, Kagami.

"Speaking of siblings..." I shift my eyes back and forth between the twins, "You two have, like, eight siblings, right? Are your parents ever planning on slowing down?"

"W-We only have two older sisters, Kona-chan..." Tsukasa points out. Ai, Tsukasa, you always ruin the fun. Let me exaggerate...

"It's kind of true, though. We barely have enough room even when those two are at their college classes," Kagamin admits—or, more specifically, complains. Well, I can relate. Between my obsessive dad and Yutaka, there's hardly any free time for myself. And even then, Kale pops in. So... yeah, I understand what she's saying. It must be even worse for her, with even more people in the house...

But then again, I can never miss an opportunity...

"Oh ho, I think I've found the reason Kagamin is so bad with cooking... Four women in the house who can cook, no wonder all you can do is eat!" I tease, poking her belly playfully.

"Hey, I've been watching myself! Besides, I can't eat as much anymore, I'm on a diet," Kagami says with a blush, looking away from me after smacking my hands away.

"Oh, don't worry Kagamin. You've been doing great with your weight ever since Kale popped into our little group," I say with a slight giggle.

"How come everything you say sounds demeaning?"

And that was basically how lunch went... Perfectly normal. There was no interruption from a male otaku. We didn't see who could get Kagamin to blush the brightest shade of red, we didn't discuss anime or manga merely to confuse everyone else, and we didn't have a contest to see who could confuse Tsukasa the most. It was just... normal. Normal, average, run-of-the-mill girl stuff. I never really realized how much of a difference he made. With him around everything is always random. He's just so... so eccentric.

Well, after that, school kind of dragged along. Kuroi-sensei hit me pretty hard, so I had a bad headache, and I didn't have that shoulder to lean on anymore—Kale took it with him when he left. Or maybe his absence just settled in. Ugh, I sound like a lost puppy... But why is it so odd now that he's gone? I should be celebrating! I never get peace from him, after all. Why am I so out of it? Ugh... I might as well concentrate on class...

And then the day ended. I don't think I've ever walked so fast to get to the train. Kagami was _so_ close to yelling at me over that, but she's probably still mad at me from our conversation earlier. Tsunderes don't let things go in just one day, and Kagamin is a textbook tsundere.

I could have went home. I could have dropped off my stuff and changed into something more comfortable before going to see him. Heck, I could have just waited for him to come over for dinner and seen him then. But I didn't. I went straight to his house. I didn't even knock—I'd have to wait then. The key he gave me years ago let me in, and I made my way straight to his room. After all, I knew he'd be there. It was either there or the living room, and I had to pass that on my way to his room.

Once there I brashly swung his door open. I didn't even consider that he might not be 'presentable', and I didn't really care. Though, I guess I should have knocked first, on the off chance that he really wasn't. But he was; he was just sitting there on his bed, staring off towards the television.

"Mm? Mijikai-chan?" He didn't even have to look to know it was me. Jeez, was it that obvious? Then again, I'm the only one that can get in without him to open the door. Guess I'm not that obvious after all.

"Just checking on you," I lie. What else could I do? I don't even know what the truth is in this situation...

"Mijikai-chan should sit down. She looks a bit winded..." He mumbles, glancing away as he pats the spot next to him on the bed. My, is that a blush? I know you have a shyness streak in you, too, but it's always cute to see you blush...

I don't want him to think anything's up, so I hurry over and sit next to him. Once I sit I lay my head on his shoulder, since I'm too lazy to hold it up myself now and I still have a headache from Kuroi. Ah, he's watching anime... One I don't know. Odd. How'd he find an anime I _don't_ know?

"Hm... What is this?" I question, peering over at him out of the corner of my eyes. Hehe, his hair smells of coconuts, so he must have washed it. I don't even see a trace of chocolate...

"Top o Nerae two," he responds, giving me a faint smile, "It's a Super Robot series, so you probably wouldn't be too interested. You don't like Super Mechas, right?"

"Well, I liked Gurren Lagann, at least from what you've shown me..." I pout. Why am I so interested in establishing a connection with him? We've always enjoyed different anime, with only a few exceptions.

"Hehe, Mijikai-chan's out of her element here..." He rubs my head playfully, then gives me a sympathetic look. "Yikes, Kuroi-sensei sure left her mark today."

"Well, without you as a buffer to soften her fist up, she really let loose on me," I respond, sighing. He's supposed to be there to sleep for me. That's just how things are... He covers for me since I can't do anything about it, even though he does it unintentionally.

"Hehe, sorry I wasn't there to take a beating for you, Mijikai-chan. I'll be there for you tomorrow," he assures me, giving me a smile and a nod. I feel kind of guilty, though. I'm distracting him from his anime...

He turned off the TV, turning his attention to me now. Our faces are only inches away... Ugh, this is _such_ a _bad_ time to have an inch over me, Kale...

"As long as you're around tomorrow..." is all I manage to get out. Am I blushing? Damn him...

He leans down to me, our faces getting closer. I tilt my head to the side and partially close my eyes to ready myself for this... And then it happens. His arms wrap around my back and pull me against him, holding me tightly. He may not look it, but he sure can get clingy when he hugs. It's part of his soft-side.

And right when I'm ready, the height of the moment, it happens... I feel his head resting on my shoulder as he hugs me, and I find myself unable to move from the shock of that. Where's my kiss, Kazehana!?

"Don't worry, I'll always be there for my Mijikai-chan..." he whispers into my ear. Wh-What does he mean by that? Of course he'll always be around, I can't imagine him going for very long without the rest of the group now. Ai, way to play me Kale... You'll make one hell of a boyfriend one day, I can tell...

We held the hug for a few moments, before the urge to watch his anime was too much for him. He pulled away slowly and turned his TV back on, getting back into his anime almost instantly. Such a random attention span...

And me? Well, a single thought raced through my head over and over: I want my kiss...


	15. Chapter 15

Okay, maybe I lied. This chapter had been in the back of my head for a while, so I finished it quickly. The next two or even three chapters are going to possibly be late, due to the sheer amount of things happening in them, and... Well, you'll see...

As for everyone who PM'd me, I didn't mean to ignore you, I just completely and totally forgot that I didn't reply to them... Give me a few days and I'll get to you.

That seems to be all...

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Life had went on normally for the group of friends; Konata and Kale stayed the perverted best friends they'd always been, Kagami stayed disapproving of their otakuness, Tsukasa stayed clueless, and Miyuki stayed the accepting vault of information she had bred herself to be. Hiyori and Patricia had also grown close to the group of friends through their connection with Konata and Kale, though the group had mainly stayed the four original girls and the one boy.

This day was a day that most of the group was secretly dreading. Valentine's Day. Kale still considered himself relatively new to the group, and he wasn't sure what to expect. He had already made plans for the day, and it was too late to undo them; at the same time, he wasn't sure what to expect from the girls. If he got all of them something, but they didn't get him anything, it would present an awkward situation. Likewise, the girls were a bit iffy on giving a boy something for Valentine's. Except for Konata, none of them had experience in that area...

All of the dread had compounded upon itself, and despite their wish for the day to just somehow be skipped, it had come.

"Oi, Kale. Can you at least be awake when we need you to be?" Kagami spoke rather condescendingly, though she attempted to control her voice. Today wasn't the day for her to use such a harsh tone. She gently poked the top of his head, her finger almost getting lost in the wave of silky, purple hair, causing her to roll her eyes and pull the finger away.

"Hm..." Kale groaned, slowly lifting his head up and pointing his face, eyes closed, at Kagami. He waited a moment, which caused a bit of frustration to well up inside her, before giving her a coherent response, "Hehe... Did Ka-chaan just say she needs me?"

Kagami gently squeezed the space between her eyes in frustration, "Ugh, can't you go five minutes without making a comment like that?"

"Hn, I could..." Kale pouted, folding his arms. He nodded his head and exhaled before looking back up at her, his trademark grin clearly visible. "But what's the fun in that?"

"You're so annoying... Anyway, here." Kagami withheld a sigh as she turned to the desk which was holding her bag. She dug around in it for a moment before producing a small bag tied closed by an oddly long, red string. Inside the transparent bag were several oddly shaped chocolates, typical of Kagami's handiwork in the kitchen. Kagami looked away, eyes tightly shut, her face a bright red. "And don't you dare say anything; it's just that it's Valentine's and it would be awkward to give everyone but you something. That's _all_. Got it?"

Kale stared at the baggy in her outstretched hand, seemingly deep in thought. He tapped his finger to his chin and muttered, more to himself than anyone else, "Hm... Ka-chaan is giving me chocolates..."

Kagami felt a shiver run down her spine, which caused her entire body to tense up and her face to brighten even more, "Just shut up and take them already!"

With a nod Kale reached out and plucked the bag from her hand, bringing it to his chest and cradling it in both hands. "Hee, don't worry Ka-chaan." He spoke through a grin, holding his thumb to his chest. "I'll pay it back to you ten times over!"

His comment caught her off guard, pulling her arms together over her chest. "Wh-What does that mean?" she stammered, her blush still going strong. Her eyes wandered away from him, her fingers tapping together, again and again. "You don't have to do anything; this was just so you aren't left out..."

"But you made those yourself, right?" Kale pointed out, carefully placing the baggy on the table before turning his attention back to her. "It's an awful lot of trouble to go through..."

Kagami nearly stumbled back a step, though she managed to control herself. Instead of falling back into her chair, she merely eased herself into it, "No, _listen_ Kale, I-"

Before she could continue, Kale was already but a few inches from her, their eyes meeting for what seemed the first time. He took her hands in his own, speaking softly, "I think I have a way to start repaying you..."

So I have to sit to be eye-to-eye with you, then? Kagami thought as she stared into his deep, blue eyes. She felt herself getting lost in them, and she noticed they were drawing closer as he leaned in. Responding without a single thought, Kagami leaned in as well, their lips drawing closer and closer...

"Oi, Ka-chaan, going to keep teasing me with chocolates?" Kale's voice, mixed with his gentle poking of her belly with his right hand, knocked her from her little dream world. His left hand was holding onto the baggy in her outstretched hand, trying to gently tug it free from her grasp. The seeming futility of the situation caused him to sigh, "Hn, to think I woke up for this..."

Taken aback by the recent series of events, as well as infuriated over her daydream being just a daydream, Kagami found herself unable to control her anger. She pushed the baggy into his hand before retracting her arm, an aura of anger enveloping her. "Y-You, j-jus- Take them!"

"Eeehhh?!" Kale groaned in surprise at Kagami's seemingly random actions, a complete turn-around from how she was acting just moments ago. He watched as the angry girl stormed off, then turned back to the three equally confused girls behind him and asked, "_What_ did I _do_?"

Tsukasa nervously stepped forward, offering Kale her own baggy, the main difference being a blue ribbon tying it closed. He wordlessly accepted the offering, replying with nothing more with a nod. Kagami's outburst was still fresh in his mind, and he was still wordless due to it. Tsukasa then chased after her sister and asked, "U-Uh, sis? You okay?"

Kale set the blue-ribboned baggy of chocolates next to the red-stringed baggy, his eyes dancing between the two. A sudden thought caused him to grin to himself. "Hehehe, twins giving me candy..." He muttered, turning to face the two remaining girls, his grin still going strong. "I like this holiday now."

"Figures you'd enjoy that, Kale-kun," Konata spoke in a teasing tone as she scooted her chair closer to his and leaned against him gently. Normally she wouldn't get so close to him during school, but today was different. Today she was expecting a gift.

Kale let out a soft sigh, already used to the way she acts towards him on Valentine's Day. He glanced to her, then to Miyuki. "Ai, but you know, this holiday really is a bother..."

"Because the chocolate baggies really weigh you down?" Konata asked, sarcastically. She playfully poked his belly to make sure he understood what she was implying.

"In more ways than one, mm..." Kale sighed, feeling himself blush a bit. He was a bit like Kagami, sensitive about his weight, though not as much as she was. After swatting her hand away from his belly he continued, "I meant in a different way."

"Then what do you mean?" Miyuki questioned, looking at Kale curiously. "I would figure that Valentine's Day is more taxing on the ones making the gifts compared to the ones who simply receive said gifts."

Konata peeled herself away from Kale and turned towards Miyuki, "Oh, but Miyuki, didn't you know? Kale doesn't celebrate White Day."

Miyuki looked to Kale, a bit confused, "Oh, you don't, Kale? Why not?"

Kale crossed his arms, pouting a bit. "Hn, I've never had many friends. It was just odd for me and Konata to have days where we gave gifts to one another for no real reason," he explained, glancing to Konata. "So, I just gave her something on Valentine's Day and ignored White Day."

Konata smiled, seemingly lost in her memories. She leaned against Kale. "Ah, I remember those days. It was always so awkward, but so much fun, too..." With a happy sigh, she poked him. "So what did you get us this year?"

"Oh? You got all of us something?" Miyuki questioned, seemingly more interested now than five seconds ago.

Kale tapped his finger to his chin, his eyes moving away from Konata and Miyuki. "Hm... Oh, what did I get you girls again? Ah, I can't seem to remember..."

"Ai..." Konata pulled herself away from him again and gave him a playful shove. "You tease!"

The shove threw him off balance a bit more than it should have, as he was too lazy to correct himself. He looked to Konata pleadingly. "Hn, but isn't it a bit unfair? I have a lot of money, so I'm expected to get you all something big and spectacular," Kale whined, crossing his arms yet again. "It's not something that easy to live up to..."

"That's somewhat true, Kale-kun," Konata admitted. She took a moment to let that settle before continuing. "But you set yourself up for that by spending a lot of money on your friends. Didn't you buy Hiyorin new glasses, and take her and Patricia out on a huge spending spree?"

"Gyah, they told you? I didn't expect them to listen to me..." Kale sighed. He felt himself starting to blush, and he instinctively looked away from the two girls, "Maybe you have a point... But I still won't say what I got you. You'll see when you get it."

"This is exactly what I'm talking about, Kale-kun." Konata grinned to her purple-haired friend as she walked out of the restaurant. In her left hand was a long stick with four dango impaled on it, while her right hand held tightly onto a bag with several more similar dango-sticks in it.

Kale gave Konata a plain look, somewhat annoyed. "Quiet, Mijikai-chan..." he mumbled. It was obvious to him that she was going to say something about it sooner or later, considering their earlier conversation, but that didn't mean it wasn't somewhat annoying.

Miyuki followed closely behind Kale, smiling her trademark happy smile, "But she does have a point, Kale-san. You do treat the four of us to after-school meals a bit often."

Kagami huffed from behind Miyuki, though she took a moment to bite off a dango and eat it before she spoke up. "But what's so odd about that? He's just the generous type."

Konata took a step back, towards Kale, and leaned against him. She grinned playfully, poking his belly. "Exactly."

Kale sighed. "Ai, you've been poking me a lot. You have something against my belly?"

"Nothing, it's just the biggest target," Konata said in a teasing tone, giving him another poke.

"Hn, are you saying I'm fat?" he groaned in response.

"No, she's saying that you're just small," Kagami quipped between mouthfuls of dango. "Which you _are_."

"You're just still mad at me," Kale sighed. He gave her a pleading look, obviously worried. "Ka-_chaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaan_, what did I doooooooooo?"

Kagami folded her arms and looked away. "You didn't do anything, okay? I'm just in a bad mood, that's all."

"Kagamin seemed to be in a good mood until she gave Kale those chocolates. Something tells me she imagined something more romantic than what happened," Konata said aloud, though she was more speaking to herself than anyone else.

Konata's comment caused Kagami to tense up and blush. "O-of course not! I know not to expect anything like _that_ from _Kale_!" she stammered out. Suddenly in a hurry, she walked past the two near-cuddling otakus. "Come on Tsukasa, we'll miss our train if we don't hurry!"

Konata, Kale, and Miyuki merely watched on as Kagami rushed away, obviously upset over something. Tsukasa had worriedly picked up the pace to keep up with her twin, nearly tripping as she ran. Miyuki considered hurrying after them, but thought it would be rude to ditch her two slow-paced friends.

"Hm..." Konata tapped a finger to her lower lip. She looked to Kale. "Should we hurry too, Kale-kun?"

"Hmph, of course not," Kale responded, waving his hand dismissively. He grinned a bit, speaking in a rather stuck-up tone. "They'll just wait for us, anyway."

A medium-sized, fully-armed black mech stood in the small elevator shaft. Attached to its right arm was a ridiculously oversized energy-blade-emitter; its left hand held onto the grip of a medium-sized rifle, while a single, 8-pod rocket launcher was attached to its left shoulder. On its right shoulder was a single word: Fang. Everything sat motionless in the elevator shaft; both the mech and its pilot focused on the door in front of them.

Adrenaline pumped as a red dot danced across the radar, a thin, blue beam of energy slicing its way through the door to the elevator. The blade disappeared as quickly as it had appeared, with the red dot on the radar jetting away from the opposing mech. Now damaged, the door stood no chance against the black mech it once held trapped. Power was channeled to the back of the mech, three giant boosters roaring to life. Blue flames shot out of the back of the mech as it rocketed forward.

The two halves of the door shot into the room, horribly dented, as the giant mech shot it's way into the room—a large parking garage. Deep in the room, in the far left corner, was a similar mech. Wasting no time, "Fang" raised its left arm, gun in hand, and took aim. Red flames shot out of the back of the second mech as it made a bee-line across the large garage. Fang's weapon tore into the wall and pillars, surrounding its mobile target, bullet casings littering the floor around it. With a loud click the gun stopped firing, and a large clip ejected from the bottom of it. Ditching the useless weapon, Fang held its right arm steady. A panel opened on its back to reveal an oversized jet, which came to life with a loud whine. It took a moment to charge up the energy required, and then it sent Fang rocketing forward at an amazing speed with a ridiculously sized arc of flames.

Fang flew down the garage, its feet meeting the floor for a single moment to help it launch itself in the direction of the target mecha. It pulled its right arm in, its blade-emitter sparking to life and releasing a long, wide, flat blue blade out. The target was backed into a corner, unable to move... Fang prepared itself for the horizontal slash, and...

Kale let out a sigh as Konata's finger found its way to his belly again. Her face rubbed up against his, causing the two of them blush, Kale more so than Konata. She spoke in a plain tone, as if she were pointing out the obvious. "You know, the day's over and you didn't give any of us our Valentine's gifts," she stated. After a moment of thought she gave him a sly grin. "Or, did you only get me something?"

Kale furiously pounded the buttons on his controller, attempting to regain the advantage he had only moments ago. The twin black mechs slid across the ground, red and blue flames mingling together as they circled around one another, weapons ablaze. Again, he found himself thrown off by a poke, though this time he didn't take his eyes off the screen as he responded, "Hm? Oh, yes, of course I got my Mijikai-chan something."

Konata couldn't help but fold her arms and pout, peeling herself away from Kale. With a sigh, she turned back to him. "You know, if you would just tell me I wouldn't bother you so much," she pointed out. Normally she would never so much as consider bothering Kale, a fellow game-obsessed otaku, in the middle of a game. However, she knew for a fact that this particular game was a game he had completely and thoroughly beaten several times over, and that he was only playing it in an attempt to distract her from the missing gift. He was strong-willed in his need to uphold surprises and the like, but she was persistent and confident he would crack eventually.

Kale let out a sigh. Konata had distracted him enough that victory was no longer a viable outcome for him, which brought him to pause the game and, sadly, quit the mission. He turned to Konata as he scrolled through the menus he had memorized to reselect the mission, a smile still going strong. "Hehe, don't worry, Mijikai-chan, I-" As he spoke, the doorbell rang. His smile shifted to a more amused one. "Ah, mind getting that, Mijikai-chan?"

"Oh, fiiine." Konata huffed, hopping off the bed as the game instructed Kale on what his 'mission' was. It wasn't uncommon for her to answer the door, or phone, at his house, just like it wasn't uncommon for him to be asked to perform the same duties at the Izumi household. They were just _that_ _close_, and spent that much time at each others' houses. With a sigh, she made her way out of the room and down the hallway, heading for the front door.

"Hehe, the lady is gone..." Kale murmured to himself. He leaned forward a bit in anticipation, gripping the controller in his hands tightly, "Now it's just you and me, Anjou-chan..."

Konata swung the front door open. She planted her feet in the ground and crossed her arms proudly. With a nod, she spoke to the stranger at the door, "Wel-cooome to the Kazehana residence!"

"Ah, so I did get the address right..." the man, dressed in a plain green shirt and matching pants, murmured to himself. He pulled out a folded, crumpled piece of paper and began to read it. "And you're... Izumi Konata, yeah?"

Konata nodded. "Yup!"

"One moment then, Izumi-san," the man said politely. With that, he turned and made his way back to a large, white van parked nearby.

_That's odd. Why would someone come to Kale's place and ask for me?_ Konata thought to herself. She didn't put it past Kale to plan things this far ahead—he was very good at reading her, and he was often right about how she would react or what she would do in any given situation. Then again, there were more than enough times that he was dead wrong. _Would_ he take a risk like that?

"Alright then, this is for you." The man's voice brought Konata out of her little mini-detective-work. She shook her head lightly, attempting to knock the thoughts out of her head. With that, she looked up to the man, though her view was obstructed by what he was holding out to her—a bundle of bright blue flowers, held together by a dazzling pink ribbon. The ribbon was wrapped around the giant bundle a good dozen times, and also held a letter in place, snuggled against the stems. The end of the ribbon was tied around the golden band to a ring, with a glorious emerald resting atop it.

Shocked, Konata accepted the flowers, struggling to wrap her arms around the huge bundle, as well as making sure to grasp the ring-equipped end of the ribbon in her hand. Although she was nearly wordless, she managed to stammer out, "Wha-What _is_ all this?"

The man shrugged, again pulling out the crumpled piece of paper. "I dunno. Some kid named 'Kale' called with a huge order, told us to start here. Also left a good fifteen or so names. Biggest order we've had today," he explained, turning and making his way back to the van. "Anyway, I have to go deliver the rest of his order. I swear, this is gonna take all day..."

Konata took a step back, clearing herself and the flowers from the door's path as she closed it. She held the bundle out and looked at it, a bit surprised that this is what he had done. For some reason she expected something less... Valentine-y. She couldn't place what she really expected, but it definitely wasn't this—not that she was complaining. After a moment of contemplation, she made her way back to his room...

Twin, black mechs rocketed to and fro across the gigantic parking garage. Wave after wave of rifle and machinegun rounds flew from one end of the room to the other, both mechs gracefully avoiding the majority of the incoming bullets. Kale's mech, Fang, lowered its left arm, the rifle it was holding no longer aiming towards Anjou. In place of the missing firepower, the back-mounted rocket launcher came to life. Six small pods opened as a volley of missiles made its way towards the opposing mech.

Unphased, Anjou's own left-mounted weapon brought itself to bear. The long barrel of the machine-cannon took a second to line up the shots, and then released a wave of bullets. The missiles, clumped together, found themselves blowing up prematurely as the machinegun fire ripped into them. A pillar of smoke rose in the middle of the room, an after-effect of the detonated missiles. Without radar, Anjou was relegated to visually scanning the area for the human-controlled opponent.

Little did her A.I. realize, the dim blue light coming from the pillar of smoke wasn't just a light that was caught in the crossfire. Moving at full speed, Fang flew out of the smoke, its brilliant blue blade bringing itself up in a horizontal slash. Reacting quickly, Anjou's right-shoulder erupted in brilliant red jets of flame, which sent it rocketing towards the other side of the room.

Having expected such a reaction, Kale's finger traveled to his own Quick Boost button and was about to press it when he found his whole body tense up as Konata wrapped her arms around his shoulders and pulled him into a tight hug. Her face again pressed against his, though this time was different—Kale felt his entire face light up in a blush as Konata planted a kiss on his cheek. She slowly peeled her lips off his cheek and lay her head on his shoulder. "Hehe, you're the best..."

"W-Well, I already knew that, hm..." Kale stammered out. He should have expected her to react this way. After all, she was getting... clingy with him lately, though he just ignored it as a pre-Valentine's warm-up...

Konata turned her attention back to the giant collection of flowers she had set on his bed. She leaned her back against his shoulder as she tugged the card free of the flowers and ribbon, and, after taking a moment to stare at the ring now in place on her finger, slowly began to read it. After taking a moment to absorb it, she tilted her head towards him, "Reservations? For what?"

Fully absorbed in defeating Anjou, Kale furiously slammed the buttons on his controller, their mechs dancing around each other in hot-blooded combat. In her current position, with her back against his shoulder, Konata found it hard to poke his belly. Instead, she poked his knee, which caused him to sigh. He paused the game and turned to her. "If Mijikai-chan can wait a moment, I'll tell her."

"You know I won't stop until you tell me," she pointed out, grinning.

"Ai, Mijikai-chan, do I have to tie you up so I can finish this fight?" Kale whined, his head drooping in mock defeat.

His words spurred her into action. She peeled her back away from his shoulder and rolled onto her hands and knees, her face mere inches from his, a perverse grin etched across her face. Kale looked directly into her green eyes, his own blue eyes a mix of curiosity and wonder. As a blush formed across his face due to the closeness she excitedly spoke up. "Oh! So you'll tie me up?"

"Hn..." Kale groaned. _Typical perverse thoughts... Ai, you never change, Mijikai-chan..._

* * *

-Lucky Channel card drops, set is empty.-

Producer: Oy, where are there?

Kaito: I'm here! -Kaito dashes into his chair, panting- I'm here, I'm here!

-Kale slooooowly makes his way to his chair and drops down into it.-

Kale: Hn...

-Kaito looks around, worried.-

Kaito: O-Oh Lucky! Kaito-san here to talk to all you Lucky Star fans!

Kale: Eh, Kale-san here, apparently not using full names anymore, hm!

Kaito: The fans should know who we are by now. -Fixes his hair.-

Kale: I said that ten chapters ago...

Kaito: Anyway, recently the two of us have taken a trip Washinomiya Shrine in the Saitama Prefecture to cleanse our souls and look at the various prayer plaques

Kale: And had to rush to get back here. It's not good for me to run, Kaito-san...

Kaito: No one likes to run...and the people here think that reporting outside the shrine think it'll ruin the atmosphere of the show

Kale: Ai, you missed my point. But oh well... So what's the topic for today?

Kaito: Apparently the topic was those prayer plaques we were looking at

Kale: Oi, what an annoying subject...

Kaito: Lucky Star is popular enough to get such attention, that we had to focus on THIS particular thing

Kale: I guess...

Kaito: We did see a ton of Kagami and Konata plaques, didn't we?

Kale: Of course. It was odd, hm...

Kaito: Many people seem to want either of them as wives. Would they make the best wives though?

Kale: Hehehehehehe...

Kaito: In my opinion, we did see a decent amount of Miyuki plaques. She would probably be the best wife, being so kind and such. And from the looks of her family, age won't be a problem.

Kale: Hm... But Mijikai-chan is skilled in the art of housekeeping. A person like you should know to respect such a skill.

Kaito: Many Japanese people find cooking skill to be very important for women...

-Kaito looks to Kale.-

Kaito: Hehe, does that mean you'll start leaning towards Kona-chan?

Kale: -Blushes.- Never said that, hmmm...

Kaito: Seems like the big issue is if you want either a more traditional, kind, housekeeping wife like Konata or the more independant, Tsundere, business wife like Kagami

Kale: Hm...

Kaito: You have to go with one or the other Kale-san...it's a shame polygamy is illegal...

Kale: That wouldn't work either!

Kaito: Well those plaques only focused on the main characters, with the exception of the one we found of the moeblob. Maybe the other girls could be good wives

-Kaito sighs.-

Kaito: Either way, we can only have one.

Kale: It's a tough choice...

Kaito: And you, really need to get your act together

Kale: Eh?!

Kaito: If Kagami is going to be your future wife, then you'll need to cut out all of that immature poking and name-calling

Kale: Never!

Kaito: You're going to need to make a choice sooner or later!

Kale: But I don't have to change, hm...

Kaito: You'll need to figure out something, unless you want to be unhappy...

Kale: Who says I'm not unhappy right now?

Kaito: Hm... All I can say is that even though you are rich, the future still needs to be planned out

Kale: Ai, I don't like plans... I never follow them, anyway.

-Ending fanfare plays-

Kaito: -Is surprised- Oh...well everyone, I suppose that's the end of the show

Kale: -Yawns- And I get to go to sleep

Kaito: Remember, our poll from last week is still being tallyed and will be announced next Lucky Channel. So keep sending in your votes!

Kaito: Bye-ni! -waves-

Kale: -Headdesks-

-Ending Card Drops-

Kaito: You know...we didn't see a ton of Tsukasa plaques. Isn't she traditional wife material?

Kale: Hardly. She'd mess everything up...

Kaito: She'd set the house on fire...

Kale: Probably, hm...

Kaito: Maybe Konata is just superior

Kale: Mhm.

-TV cuts off-


	16. Chapter 16

Ugh, no proofreader for this chapter. Not good at picking my own typos out, so... I'll probably reupload in the future, just to get rid of those nasty typos. That's about all I have to say, methinks, other than apologize for being late in updating...

Cookie to anyone who gets all the references, by the way...

* * *

The sun high in the sky, shining brightly upon the group of teenagers making their way down a dirt path. Their destination was clear in sight; A luxurious and expensive hotsprings. As they made their way down the path, drawing closer and closer, the feeling of excitement grew amongst them. The air became warmer and warmer, and against the usually cool weather for the season, it was a welcome change. After a two-hour long ride and twenty minute walk, the group had reached the final leg of their journey - A giant, stone staircase which lead up to the hotspring inn.

Konata squinted as she looked up the stairs, using her hand to shield her eyes. She was dressed in baggy yellow pants and a white top which had yellow sleeves. And, on her left hand's ring finger was a emerald-topped, golden-band ring. After inspecting the staircase she couldn't help but sigh. "That's a lot of stairs."

Kagami stood next to Konata, hands on her hips. Like Konata, she had dressed for the cooler weather, wearing a red, zip-up sweater and blue jeans. She looked to Konata, seemingly annoyed. "Ai, Konata. You're athletic, you should be able to do this easily."

"Being able to do something and wanting to do something are two different things, Kagamin." Konata pointed out, much to Kagami's annoyance.

"I should have expected a response like that..." Kagami groaned. Lately both Konata and Kale's excuses had been wearing thin on her. Maybe it was the pressures of school finally getting to her, or maybe it was the stress of home adding to her worries... or maybe they had just legitimately gotten more annoying. How could she be expected to know?

Miyuki, dressed in a vibrant, white dress despite the weather, couldn't help but jump into the conversation. "Kona-chan does have a point, though. There are many times where I don't want to do my homework, even though I'm perfectly capable of completing it rather quickly."

"Ah, Yuki-san has a tinge of laziness in her as well," Konata commented, nodding in approval. "That's good to know."

"To some people, at least..." Kagami added, glancing at Konata, who merely let out a nervous laugh and rubbed the back of her head.

Takeshi slowly walked up to the three talking women. He was dressed casually - An open jacket, with a white shirt and blue jeans. His eyes wandered from the three women, and rested on the staircase. "Ah, there we go. So, how about it Kale?"

"Eh, why not?" Kale sighed, slowly coming to a stop next to his friend. He was wearing a long, black coat, with a purple shirt, and baggy purple pants. Stretching his arms out to the side, he continued. "We'll be relaxing for the next three days, so I might as well blow away all my energy right now..."

Nothing else had to be said. The two boys looked to each other for a moment, and then nodded. With that, they charged forward and began to make their way up the steps. Surprisingly, Kale was able to keep up with Takeshi, though Takeshi quickly picked up his pace and left Kale behind. Despite the sudden change, their laughter could be heard by the girls.

Kagami watched the two boys, smiling. "Well, that's good to see. No matter what he says, he does have an active side."

"Lets see how long _that_ lasts," Konata commented. She had seen Kale have bouts of activity, though it was mainly when Takeshi was around, and she couldn't tell if it was due to his urge to not be seen as a failure by one of his friends, or if being around men spurred on other men...

The rest of the group had almost caught up to them, and a sense of urgency had fallen upon Miyuki. She quickly spoke up. "Why don't we get started on these stairs, then? It sure would be embarrassing if the hired help carrying our bags gets to the rooms before us."

"Ai, good point..." Konata nodded.

"Lets hurry, then," Kagami responded, smiling.

The girls slowly made their ascent up the stairs, engaging in light conversation. Below them followed Hiyori, Patricia, Yutaka, Tsukasa, Minami, Ayano, Yui, and Kuroi, all of whom had found at least a single person to talk to. The entire mood was happy and excited, as everyone had high hopes for the weekend. Except Kale, who was rather stressed and anxious, and for good reason - Anything that went wrong would immediately fall on him, as he was the one who brought everyone here. Reversely, if everything went well, he would have given a memorable Valentine's gift.

As they neared the top of the stairs Miyuki pointed ahead of them, smiling. "Ah, there they are."

Konata and Kagami both directed their attention to what Miyuki was pointing at. Directly ahead of them, near the entrance to the hotspring inn, were Kale and Takeshi. Both of them looked exhausted, Kale moreso than Takeshi. While Takeshi had his back against the wall, Kale had found it better to instead lean against Takeshi.

"At least it was a good match," Takeshi complimented Kale. He finished his sentence with a light hit on the shorter boy's arm.

"Ah, looks like you won anyway, though..." Kale added. He sounded a bit disappointed that he had lost, though he wasn't exactly surprised - He wasn't as active as even Konata, so someone like Takeshi should be way ahead of him physically...

"Shorter people are usually pretty quick, but you've only got a quick wit," Takeshi pointed out.

Kale huffed, "Hmph... Well... I guess that's true."

The two boys started to laugh as the competitive atmosphere around them faded away, replaced with a more friendly atmosphere.

"It seems as if Takeshi's not quite the growling brute you make him out to be, Kona-chan," Miyuki commented, giving Konata a curious look - Though, her smile never did go away.

Konata shrugged. "I've been wrong before."

With that, the thirteen-member group piled into the lobby of the inn and assembled in a corner as Kale checked on their reservations. Excitement was high, as well as expectations for the three-day-vacation. Despite the fact that a teacher and a cop were there, the mood was loose and enjoyable.

"Ah, Kagami-chan. I should have expected you would be here," Ayano greeted her friend cheerfully. She was dressed in a light-blue dress, though she normally didn't dress so flashy. But, she figured since Kale was treating, it would be a big, flashy spectacle. She was only half-wrong...

Kagami turned back and eyed her friend. Kale had arranged for two limos to pick everyone up, so it didn't get crowded, Ayano must have taken the second one. She returned her friend's smile. "Oh, Ayano-chan. I didn't know you were invited," she spoke, then looked around curiously. "Is Misao here?"

"Oh, of course not. Kale doesn't know Misao, so he wouldn't know to invite her," Ayano responded, waving off the question. She almost felt bad for Misao, who was stuck home while her friends were out, but then again she couldn't fairly ask Kale to invite someone he doesn't know. Besides, it's technically a continuation of his Valentine's gift to everyone.

"But aren't you and Misao best friends? How can he know you and not her?" Kagami questioned. Kale was so odd, he probably bumped into Ayano and just assumed she was instantly his friend. That spurred her on. "Wait, how does he even know _you_?"

"It's a long story." Ayano avoided the question, smiling nervously. She simply wasn't in the mood to explain anything today, it was nothing against Kagami. Boredly, she dropped into a chair and relaxed for a moment.

"Ah, heh... This is kind of embarrassing..." Kale spoke nervously as he returned to the group. He did his best to smile, and when that failed he rubbed the back of his head nervously, as well as doing his best to sound weak and unintimidating. "Apparently they're overbooked..."

A collective groan made it's way through the group, though Miyuki was forever hopeful. "That's unfortunation, but what can we do?" She turned to Kale, smiling brightly as always. "Surely they aren't sending us home."

"Ai, that would be horrible," Konata said with a sigh. Her shoulders drooped and even her ahoge seemed to fall over in defeated. "To be hyped up for a relaxing hotspring vacation and then to be denied it..."

"That would be bad, but what can we do?" Kagami spoke up. She shrugged, almost dismissively, and glanced to Kale. "After all, money doesn't buy everything..."

Kale seemingly shrunk under her gaze, and chuckled nervously at her comment. He did his best to smile and tone down the tension as he spoke. "Oh, no worries. We still have a room, juuuust..."

The worries of the group had seemed unfounded as they entered the room. It was very large, easily able to accomodate the large group it had been assigned to. The floors were padded with comfortable cushions, perfect for the teenagers to throw themselves on after a long and relaxing trip to the hotsprings, and there were two doors - One obviously leading to the hallway, while the other lead to the balcony, and a beautiful view of both the ocean to one side and the woods to the other. In the middle of the room rested a simple partition with a rose design painted on it, designed to seperate the two groups at night and ensure absolute privacy.

"So, any reason why we have to get the last coed room for this place?" Kagami questioned, sounding utterly unamused at the turn the day had taken. She glanced to Kale, who merely looked away, seemingly ignoring her.

Miyuki approached her friend and placed her hand on her shoulder in an attempt to calm her. "It's not that bad, Kagami."

"Mhm, at least there's a partition," Kale added, glancing to Kagami with a perverse grin. "I don't have to worry about Ka-chaan spying on me when I change, hm."

"Kagami isn't the one I'd worry about," Takeshi spoke up as he set his bags in the corner. He glanced to Konata as he spoke, though everyone already knew who he was referring to.

Konata merely returned Kale's perverted grin, leaning her back against his shoulder. "Oh, if you think I'm going to spy on you _here_, then you're going to be _surprised_ in the hotsprings, Kale-kun."

"And as if I'd even bother to spy on you, shorty!" Kagami yelled, her entire face turning red. She grabbed one end of the partition and slammed it closed, and out of anger turned her back to the now-closed partition, arms crossed, and let out a huff.

A sigh was heard from the other end of the room, through the partition. "Ka-chaan needs to work on that attitude problem, hm..." Kale commented.

"Kagamin has anger issues. It comes with being a tsundere." Konata commented.

"Shut up!" Kagami hissed. She turned her attention to setting her bags down and unpacking her things.

Everything was quiet for a few moments as everyone set to unpacking their things in silence. Konata, having been 'trapped' on the boys' end of the partition, started to unpack her things next to Kale, who merely gave her an odd look. "Mijikai-chan is going to be sleeping... with us?"

"I guess, if Kagamin's going to be huffy and yelling all night," Konata responded as she dutifully unpacked her things, though she had enough modesty to keep some things out of the clueless Kale's sight. "Who knows, she probably yells at us in her sleep, too."

"I can hear you, you know!" Kagami's yelled out, though this time she only yelled to make sure the two otakus could hear her.

"Hn, I moved away from home to get away from the yelling," Kale complained as he rolled out the blanket he'd be using when he went to sleep later. It was a dark blue, one of the few items he owned that were actually blue in color. Odd that he had never noticed... Then again, who pays attention to colors that much?

Konata gave Kale a serious look. "That's not nice, Kale. To compare our lovely Kagamin to your mother..."

"Yeah, I suppose." Kale admitted. He let out a sigh as he threw his arms out and stretched. "Hehe, I chose the perfect time to being you all! If I had waited any longer, then the stress would have caused you all to explooode!"

"Speaking of relaxing-"

"I never mentioned relaxing, hm." Kale pointed out. But, the topic change was

Konata sighed and shoved him. "Quiet. Anyway, why are we _here_ and not at the hotsprings?"

The air was warm and inviting around the hotspring, extending as far as changing room. Though most of the group had opted to stay behind and prepare the rooms, Hiyori and Konata decided to escape to the hotsprings early. The few extra moments would serve them good, and an empty hotspring is always much better for relaxation than a full one. Especially once you toss in the threat of being spied on by a certain shota...

Konata happily walked into the changing room, Hiyori right behind her. They were in a rush - After all, the faster they undressed, the faster they got in the water. She quickly made her way to the towel rack and snatched up a clean, white towel and tossed it over to the bench, sitting next to it. "Oh, this is the best part about going somewhere with Kale. He probably got us a private room, so it'll just be us girls." She said to Hiyori, who was busy grabbing her own towel and claiming her own spot on the bench. Konata reached for the bottom of her shirt and began to lift it up, slowly sliding it off her body and tossing it to the side.

Hiyori reached for her pants and began to undo the button and the zipper. "But Takeshi and Kale will have a different area, right?" She nervously asked as she tugged her pants down, revealing light blue panties. Despite her typical, perverted nature, she wasn't the type to just sit around naked with two equally naked boys. However, a quick glance at Konata caused her to forget her previous worry, and she instead grinned. "Oh, that must be the best part of being a textbook loli. You don't have to spend any money buy bras, do you?"

Konata merely shrugged of the question as she undid her own pants, "I'll probably need to get started on that eventually, but not now." She explained as she pulled her pants down, leaving her in nothing more than a black pair of panties. "But, isn't it better to stick with only panties? It saves time when you're with a man, right?"

"A f-few seconds, I guess," Hiyori stammered out, blushing. She had never had such a conversation; Personal matters like that while undressing. Especially with Konata, a girl who knew nothing of boundaries. Then again, if she didn't answer directly, Konata would either press the issue or assume the worst. She held back a sigh as she started to lift her top off. "It's n-not like I'd know or an-anything, you k-know?"

Konata stared at the scantily-clad Hiyori, dressed in nothing more than a light-blue bra and matching panties. Several thoughts raced through her mind as she looked over the blushing otaku, some more pressing than others; Do women really go out of their way to make sure lingerie matches? Is it really that important? Her eyes came to Hiyori's bra, and a tinge of curiosity spurred her forward. She leaned over to Hiyori and wrapped her arms around her, attempting to undo the bra. "I've always wondered how hard this is. Boys always talk about practicing how to do this so they don't embarass themselves in front of the girl. Is it really that hard?"

"K-K-Konata, isn't this a bit too..." Hiyori stammered out, but she couldn't finish her sentence. The word never came. A little too _what_? Her blush deepened, but it wasn't because she was uncomfortable. She had always watched other girls and imagined yuri scenes, but she had never experienced one herself. It was... odd. Not bad, just 'odd'. Konata struggled for all of two seconds, and the next thing Hiyori knew the little, blue-haired loli was tugging her bra off. Now that it was over, Hiyori couldn't help but smile, though the realization that she had just underwent her first personal yuri-moment caused her blush to stay strong. "T-There you go..."

Konata merely chuckled and pulled away. Despite her perverted nature, she didn't need to be _as_ close to Hiyori's chest as she just was. She looked over Hiyori's body, concentrating on her breasts. Despite the small difference in height, Hiyori had managed to do what Konata hadn't; Develop. She felt a tinge of envy, though it quickly faded - Being a loli was her preferred choice, not something she had settled with. Luck just happened to agree with her. Of course, she was allowed to wonder, wasn't she? She gave Hiyori a grin. "Hehe, Hiyori-chan is developing nicely."

Hiyori giggled a bit at the comment, and couldn't help but wonder how she hadn't seen it coming. Despite her blush, she wasn't all that uncomfortable. She was more... inspired? Knowledgable? Enlightened would be the right word. It must have been all the yuri she draws, she probably developed an immunity to the awkwardness of these kinds of situations. Her only regret was that she left her sketchpad back in the room. That could way, though. She stood up and gave Konata a friendly smile. "Lets just get into the water."

Miyuki cautiously pressed the tip of her toe into the water, trying to judge how hot it was, though she immediately gave herself a mental-smack for it. Letting her better judgement take over, she quickly got in the water in one swift movement, slipping in between Konata and Patricia. She immediately let out a content sigh. "Oh, this is nice..."

"Ah, and it feels even better because it's free..." Konata added, her back pressed againt the rock the girls were leaning against. Her face was flushed red due to the heat, her eyes closed, and her hands folded in her lap. Hotsprings were always great, at least to her. It was even better now that she had lots of company, compared to a hotspring full of random women...

Kagami let out a sigh as she ran her fingers across the two buns of hair on either side of her head. "It wasn't really free, Konata. Kale paid for it."

"Yeah, so it was free for _us_," Patricia added, smiling. As an exchange student from America, she had never had the luxury or the opportunity to visit a hotsprings. Now that she was here, she couldn't help but wonder why there was never a place like this in America. Well, except for saunas, but those aren't the same...

"You two..." Kagami sighed. She couldn't help but admit that they were right, but they sounded like spoiled little kids. Well, maybe not _that_ bad...

"They do have a point, Kagami," Miyuki jumped in as she squirmed against the rock in an attempt to get comfortable. Her eyes were closed, as she couldn't have her glasses in the hotsprings, and her vision was worse than horrible without them. Once she settled in, she continued. "If we just worry about the money he spent, then we wouldn't enjoy ourselves as much. Since it isn't that big of a deal for him to spend this much, I don't think it's for us to worry ourselves over the cost."

"You're on their side again, Miyuki?" Kagami sighed. Maybe she was a bit uptight lately, but she slowly felt her worries melting away into the water. She mentally commanded herself to visit places like this more often. She pressed her back against the rock, getting comfortable like the others. "Fine, I'll drop it..."

"Yuki-san is the voice of reason yet again." Konata commented, sounding rather happy. Things always seemed to end well for the side that Miyuki sided with, and due to her intellectual nature, the two of them had often found themselves on opposite sides during most issues.

"Oh, but isn't he an odd one? That Kale..." Kuroi spoke aloud, sitting across from the row of Highschoolers. Next to her sat a relaxed, and possibly even asleep, Yui. "I mean, he even invited me and Yui."

"Actually, Kale and Yui used to be pretty close, so I'm not surprised he invited her," Konata explained, never budging from her position. Her right eye opened a little, looking in Kuroi's direction. "Kuroi-sensei is an abnormality, though."

Kuroi smiled as she cracked her knuckles, and before Konata could react she had earned a large lump growing on the top of her head, courtesy of her teacher. As she rubbed the top of her head painfully Kuroi merely chuckled, settling back into her spot next to Yui. "Oh, did I forget to tell you? I'm in the middle of a bad hangover, so you'd better not push me."

"Agh, Kuroi-sensei is too rough..." Konata whimpered. She sunk into the water until it came up to her nose. Maybe if she stayed like this, she wouldn't open her mouth and get hit _twice_.

Miyuki sighed. "That looked like it hurt."

"Hmph, that's what she gets," Kagami commented.

Meanwhile, on the male end of hotsprings, a distraught Kale sat helplessly, his back to Takeshi, as he stared at the wall seperating the two sides of hotsprings. The water came up just past his chin, which meant his purple hair was floating around him in a messy, purple wave. His towel sat, neatly folded, on top of his head, though it wouldn't be used until he left. He inspected the wall from his position. "Oh, that's just mean."

"You really can't do anything about it, can you? Just drop it and relax." Takeshi told him as his body adjusted to the warm water. Kale had beaten him here by several minutes, but instead of taking that time to get comfortable, the boy had only found something to complain about! Takeshi couldn't help but hold back a sigh.

"But there are naked women on the other side of this wall! Wet naked women! In hot water!" Kale whined, letting out a pathetic whimper. He resigned himself to his woman-less hotspring fate, and slowly made his way to the wall, planning to rest against it. And who knows? He might just hear _something_...

"What did you expect? They'd just let us chill with the ladies?" Takeshi sighed. He was good friends with Kale and all, but sometimes his short friend would just get a bit_ too _involved in his hopes, dreams, and perverted fantasies. Then again, that's often what made him fun to be around...

Back with the women, Hiyori turned to Miyuki and gave her a stern look. "But, Miyuki... Your boobs really_ are _big."

Miyuki couldn't help but blush. Ever since Konata had been hit, the conversation had taken a turn for the worse. She was just surprised it was Hiyori who made the comment and not Konata. "Oh, well yes, but..."

Konata cut Miyuki off, grinning. "Yuki-san is a really high-class girl, even her body is top-of-the-line."

"I can't really do much about it, though. Developed bodies just run in my family, I guess," Miyuki tried to explain, her blush deepening. She was often complimented for her looks, and that always made her feel good about herself, but then times like this always came up. They didn't really bring her down, but she would prefer just compliments...

"I can tell," Konata responded, her mind focused on the image of Miyuki's mother, Yukari. She leaned over to Miyuki and gently poked her breast, as if she were a boy who had never seen a topless women before. "Ooh, soft..."

"Oh, let me feel!" Hiyori rushed around Konata and towards Miyuki, who tried her best to protect herself from the oncoming assault on her body. Miyuki's arms raised, though they weren't quite able to protect her body from the two incoming girls, as Patricia, who was sitting next to her, had grabbed her by the elbows and tugged her arms back. Despite the near-molestation of the scene, Miyuki found herself struggling to fight the three girls off, water getting kicked up everywhere.

"Will you three leave her alone? I swear, you guys..." Kagami sighed, using her hand to shield her face from the water Miyuki was kicking up.

"Ah, teens. Remember when we were that impulsive?" Kuroi asked aloud, nudging Yui. Though they had only just met, Kuroi could tell Yui and her would have gotten along back in their high school days.

"Ah, heh..." Yui chuckled nervously, giving Kuroi a weak smile. "I'm still impulsive, you know..."

* * *

Kale stared out from the balcony connected to the room. He was dressed in nothing more than a simple, purple yukata, which offered little protection against the cold wind, and the best he could do was simply fold his arms, each hand getting lost in the opposite sleeve. The beauty of the star filled sky, of the bright moon shining down upon the peaceful ocean, the calming effect the gentle breeze and crickets in the woods... it was all lost on him. The silence was what he needed. Not Konata, not Kagami, not Miyuki, not Takeshi, just... silence. The others were all at dinner right now, but without an appetite he had no reason to join them. This was a good substitute, though.

He let out a troubled sigh, glancing to the path that lead them to the Inn from the parking area.

"Hm... It feels as if a terrible wind is trying to tell me something."


	17. Chapter 17

Later update than I expected. Not my fault, though... I can't motivate myself very well.

As for the chapter, I always said I'd get this done before chapter 20(Out of 27). I even tossed in someone else a bit earlier than I wanted. Expect 18 to be _long_. (And no, I'm not going to do a drama-fest. I actually don't like drama very much, hence why I focus on the two happy-go-lucky characters more than the others...)

... And this line exists just so the chapter can break 6K words.

* * *

Kale slowly sat up, peeling his back away from the matted floor, his blanket sliding off his body. He stretched his arms out, letting out a soft groan as he did, his eyes straining to get used to the morning light. Something about the morning, it just made him feel so... content? Happy, perhaps... Sadly, he never gets to experience a morning very often. The rushed, troublesome school mornings definitely don't count...

_Odd, I expected Mijikai-chan to wake me up... Or at least make Ka-chaan yell and wake me up..._

He looked around the room, leaning back and using his arms for support as he did. Everyone was gone, various items of clothing scattered about. The partition was open, revealing both the women's side of the room and the open door leading to the hallway. Aside from the gentle chirping of the birds living out in the wilderness surrounding the inn, all was quiet in the room. Perfect for giving him the time he needed to wake up...

_Hn... Don't feel like moving..._

Kale shook his head, trying to knock away his grogginess completely. His long, two-foot-long hair whipped around as he did, finally settling against his back, some of it coming over his shoulders and going down his chest. With a sigh he finally pushed away his blanket and hopped to his feet, standing in nothing more than his boxers now. He dutifully made his way to the wall near his makeshift bed and picked up the folded yukata he had worn for the latter half of the previous day. After dressing himself he turned towards the door, a look of concern replacing his usual laid-back, happy-go-lucky smirk.

_I can't shake off that bad feeling from last night... What could it be?_

Standing there in the corner, his back to the window that was supplying precious light into the large room, Kale worked his mind in desperation, trying to figure out the source of his dark feeling. Had he forgotten to invite someone? Doubtful, given how much planning this trip was given. Or maybe not some_one_, maybe he had forgotten some_thing_? A quick glance to his bag produced nothing more than a sigh. If anything, he had over packed. It couldn't be that. Maybe it was that he wouldn't have time to finish his homework between the time he got home and the time he went to sleep for school the following day?

That last thought caused him to stop what he was doing, a look of amusement replacing his concerned expression.

_Worried about homework, mm? Now I'm just being ridiculous._

"Hm..." Kagami murmured to herself as she downed a mouthful of her breakfast. She stared down at the plate, which was nearly empty aside from a single pile of scrambled eggs. Everyone was being so quiet; normally they never went through a meal without a conversation. Konata definitely never made it through a meal without mentioning an anime, a manga, or a game. She glanced around the room they were in, nothing more than a simple diner built into the inn, and it was practically empty. Then again, most people would have eaten by now. In an attempt to kill the uncomfortable silence, she spoke up. "Ah, even the food here is good. Pretty amazing place, huh?"

"Kagamin would be the best to judge, since she has to be picky with what she bothers to eat," Konata spoke up, her own empty plate sitting in front of her. Her arms were crossed, hands lost in the sleeves of her light-blue yukata, and she was leaning against the seat of her chair, looking rather comfortable. She gave Kagami a knowing smile. "Right, my weight-obsessed tsundere?"

Kagami couldn't help but let out a sigh. Konata was always the one to make her regret she said or did anything, and this time was no different. She looked to Konata out of the corner of her eye as she poked at the pile of scrambled eggs with the tip of a chopstick. "Don't start now, Kona-chan. It's too early to yell at you."

"Ai, but the beer couldn't be any more difficult to get a hold of. They say I have to wait until at least noon before they open the bar," Kuroi complained, looking away from the group of teenagers and towards the window to hide her frustration. It wasn't even the fact that she wanted the alcohol; the most annoying part was that she didn't have access to it. She let out a sigh. "How am I supposed to relax without a soothing cup of sake?"

"This place is getting better and better with every passing moment. Kale-kun sure knows how to pick a vacation spot," Konata murmured to herself, rubbing her chin as she got lost in thought. Comfortable accommodations, yukatas, great hotsprings, keeping Kuroi sober, on top of the scenic view; it was one of the places straight out of a romance manga! Although Kale wasn't working very hard to trigger the flags... But then again, it was so much more fun when they were triggered for him. Ah, the way his calm face would just melt away into a deep blush...

"At least we can agree on something..." Kagami replied, giving Kuroi an un-amused glance, completely oblivious to how quickly Konata's train of thought had derailed...

Kuroi glanced at the three students sitting with her, a look of annoyance crossing her face. "What are you girls doing down here, anyway? You have plenty of time, you should be working on your homework," She lectured, her teacher-side kicking in. Her eyes wandered to Konata. "Especially you."

Konata couldn't help but sigh. First Kagamin, then Kuroi... When will people just let her relax? She looked to her teacher. "We're here to relax, so I'm going to relax. Besides..." Her mind wandered back to the conversation they had last night, and she grinned. "It would be disrespectful to Kale if I stressed myself out over homework, wouldn't it?"

"It's disrespectful to me if you don't stress out over the homework!" Kuroi countered. For once in her life she refrained from hitting the short otaku...

Kagami glared at her shorter friend, seemingly unimpressed at how casually she had tossed aside her responsibilities as a student. "Really, Konata, what are you going to do after High School? Just work in that Cosplay Cafe your whole life?"

Konata paused for a moment, thinking. She was used to people asking her all sorts of things about the future, but never had she been asked what she planned on doing with her life. "Well, I haven't really given it much thought..." As she spoke, she sat back in her chair, getting comfortable and putting on her usual casual grin. "I'm really good at winging things, so I'll probably just apply for some sweet job and get it because I'm me."

Kagami couldn't help but sigh. "Please don't tell me you're serious..."

"Nah, of course not. I'm not that bad," Konata reassured her friend, nodding once as if to solidify her statement as fact. Her expression suddenly changed from disinterest to complete seriousness. "If I don't make good money then I won't be able to afford a house to put all my manga and anime in."

Kagami shook her head, again unimpressed with her friend's odd obsession with the usual otaku interests. "I should have expected that from you. But whatever motivates you is good enough, I guess."

"Ah, Izumi, didn't you say you could cook?" Kuroi questioned. "Why not work on that?"

Konata nodded. "I've considered it. I have to cook for a lot of people so I'm pretty skilled in the kitchen," she admitted, turning to Kagami. "Unlike certain people."

Kagami rolled her eyes. "Are you really one to judge the skills of another, Konata?"

Ignoring her friend's remark, Konata continued. "But being a chef can't be too hard. Like I said, I'm already used to preparing several meals at once," she went on. Then she sighed and folded her arms. "Kale gives me the most trouble, since he likes everything to be sweet..."

"Eh? Kale actually complains about that?" Kagami questioned, finding that odd. He didn't seem like the type to complain about something gained through someone else's kindness...

Konata shook her head. "No, no, he doesn't complain. Fact is, he'd eat anything as long as it was edible. Well, almost anything..." She explained, mentally going through a list of food Kale refused to eat. After a moment of thought, she continued. "But it's not that much work to make it up to his sweetness-standard most of the time, and I actually enjoy cooking, so I don't have a problem with it."

Kuroi couldn't help but grin. "Ah, so Kale already has himself a little housewife. Good for him."

They day went by at a normal pace, with everyone finding something or another to occupy themselves with, be it a dip in the hotsprings or a walk through the open woods surrounding the area. However, Kale found himself with a dilemma. The hotsprings lost its appeal quickly, ruined by the giant wall separating him from the woman's side, and after eating his fill of dango he found himself... alone. All of the girls had wandered off to do their own thing, leaving him to himself. Well, except for Kuroi, who had claimed a seat at the bar. He wasn't in the mood to deal with a drunken woman, let alone one prone to violence like Kuroi. Instead, he decided to make his way back to the room. It should be empty, leaving him with the peace he'd need to just sleep. Maybe if he slept now he wouldn't be tired later, and maybe then he'd be able to find one of the girls and do something with them. It obviously wasn't going to happen now, so he should just conserve his energy... But even that didn't go as planned, though he wasn't complaining.

"Hehe, this seems familiar," he commented, his head lying on Yui's belly. The traffic officer had stumbled upon the bar earlier and couldn't help but make off with a bottle of sake. She now lay on her back, head supported by her rolled-up blanket.

"You always used to come over to my place years ago," Yui finished for him as she poured herself a small cup of sake. "It was always because of that mother of yours."

"Yup. Knew about Mijikai-chan's place she did. But Yui-san's home was a safe haven," he explained, his mind sifting through memories of his childhood, and he couldn't help but grin. "I seem to remember my head being a bit higher up..."

Yui responded by merely rubbing his head affectionately, making sure to down the cup she just poured before speaking. "I hope you didn't expect that to work..."

"It was worth a shot, hm..." Kale shrugged it off. He had stood to lose nothing, so he had gained nothing...

"Okay, so it's been long enough. Do I get to hear what your mother is like?" Yui questioned, poking the top of his head. She then began to pour herself another cup of sake, and quickly downed it.

Kale glanced up to Yui, a bit confused. "Eh? Makaze? You want to know about Makaze-san?"

"Oh, that's her name? I don't know anything about your family, really..." Yui responded, giving Kale a friendly smile. A small blush was forming on her cheeks already from the sake.

Kale shrugged as best he could given the fact that he was laying down. "I don't know much about my father, but I can tell you for a fact that me and Makaze are completely different, hm."

"Eh? How so?" Yui pushed, pouring herself a third cup of sake.

The question dragged out a sigh from Kale. He wasn't entirely comfortable with the subject, given the effort he put into distancing himself his family. However, he couldn't just deny Yui. She deserved to know, for whatever reason. "Well for one, she's tall."

"I hope you have more than that," Yui prodded, already working on a fourth cup of sake. Her blush was becoming more evident, though Kale was too busy staring at the ceiling to notice...

"I'm not really comfortable talking about her..." Kale admitted, blushing a bit out of embarrassment towards his seeming weakness. Truthfully, his bad feeling was magnifying the more he thought about her, and that had him worried...

Yui waved her hand in the air. "Fine, fine! Instead, tell me when you're going to _finally_ ask Konata out."

"E-Eh!? Ask M-Mijikai-chan o-out? Wh-What're you talking about!?" Kale stammered out, his face lighting up in a deep blush. Obviously, he was not ready for drunken Yui's directness...

"Oh, come on! You've had feelings for her for years!" Yui exclaimed, now drinking the sake directly out of the bottle. She wiped her mouth with her sleeve after she had her fill. "Don't tell me you haven't thought about it."

"W-Well, I, uh... Hey! What makes you think I have feelings for her!?" Kale glared up at her, attempting to coerce her to drop the subject with just a mean look. _Why am I even trying to argue with a drunk woman, anyway?!_

Yui held up her hand, a single finger raised. "When you're just a cousin, you get to see things other people don't. Konata's your friend so she won't notice it, especially since you've always acted that way. Sojiro just doesn't want to see it, I guess. But I do. So..."

"Oi, Yui, you're borderline drunk..." Kale sighed, trying to curb the discussion in a more direct manner.

She ignored him, continuing on with her rant. "You're not going to let another man swoop in and claim her, are you!?" Her arm flailed about wildly before pointing to the door. "Go! Go make your move!"

"Scratch that, you _are_ drunk..." Kale lifted his head away from Yui's belly and hopped up to his feet. He threw his arms out and stretched, then turned to the door...

Yui quickly followed his movements, shooting up to her feet and giving him a gentle nudge towards the door. "Go! Don't come back until she's yours!"

"Gah! Fine! But don't expect me to come back!" Kale groaned in response. He quickly made his way out to the hallway and closed the door behind him before Yui could respond. "Oi, I hope Mijikai-chan _never_ drinks..."

* * *

Two lone hunters stalked across the steep, snow-covered mountainside, carefully picking every step they made. The entire area was oddly deserted, the typical abundance of life that normally made the snowy mountain and its frozen cave home mysteriously gone. The two hunters crossed eerie clearings, scaled dangerously tall cliffs, and crossed frozen rivers in their search for a very specific target. Morale was low between the two partners, and the two seemingly had given up as they waltzed out of the large cave exit, coming upon a huge, frozen clearing.

Suddenly the silence was broken by a demonic roar, startling the two unsuspecting hunters. The cry was well-known to them, belonging to their favorite prey. A large thump from behind them notified of the creature's location, the two instantly reacting to the sound. They ran in opposite directions, splitting from one-another. The female of the group didn't run for cover, however, instead heading straight for the opposing beast. Clad in bulky armor, designed by master craftsmen and built by the most skilled of blacksmiths, composed of the near-unbreakable hide of several legendary Wyverns, and equipped with a fifteen-foot-long lance of mythical construct, as well as a matching shield, she was more than ready to go toe-to-toe with the bloodthirsty beast. As she approached the Wyvern, she let out a battle cry, bringing her lance to bear and holding her shield at the ready...

The male took a separate approach. The quad-spiked, collapsed weapon on his back wasn't designed for close-quarters combat like his partner's lance, nor was he as comfortable at engaging such a large Wyvern in a physical melee. He stopped and took a moment to gauge the distance between himself and the giant Wyvern, several dozen calculations running through his head. In one swift motion he drew the weapon strapped on his back, holding it out in front of him. A loud click followed, and the weapon popped into its combat state; a giant War Bow, with quad-linked wiring to improve its already impressive wire. He was a tall man, standing at six feet tall, yet the limbs of the bows went from just over his ankle to a good two feet over his head. His left hand held the bow steady, his right hand traveling to his waist, deftly drawing a three-foot-long arrow. The bow creaked as he drew back on the wire, aiming the arrow for the exposed side of the unsuspecting Wyvern...

A loud pounding sound resonated from the shield of the Lancer's shield as the beast slammed its head against it, sending the woman skidding back several feet. She quickly assumed her battle stance, holding her tower shield firmly in front of her body with the lance at the ready. The creature reared back, preparing to lunge forward and lash out at the lone warrior yet again, when several arrows pierced its flesh. It instinctively turned to face its new attacker, though it earned a lance in the face for it's incompetence in battle.

"The Tigrex always aims for you, Kale," Konata commented as she methodically input attack commands on her PSP. She tore her attention from the screen for a moment to glance at her hunting partner, giving him a teasing grin. "He must be surprised to see a man standing back and letting a woman do the hard work."

"But Mijikai-chan was the one who told me to use a Gunnery set..." Kale complained, furiously smashing the 'X' button as his hunter ran from the charging Wyvern. He didn't make it, and the Tigrex slammed into his character, sending him tumbling several dozen feet as a huge chunk of his health bar disappeared. The boy let out a sigh. "Oi, and that's what I get for not using a bowgun..."

"What difference would it have made? You'd still have gotten hit anyway. You can't even run with the bowgun out, so you'd get hit more," Konata pointed out. She had never used the Gunnery-class of weapons, preferring the Lances, Hammers, or Greatswords over playing cat-and-mouse, but she had learned quite a bit through Kale's random bouts in the class of weapons—specifically the fact that if she ever used a Gunnery-weapon, it would be the more 'reliable' Bow. "Besides, that's why I'm here. I can tank a lot better with a lance than you can. It's not _my_ fault you're Wyvern-bait."

"I'd have a shield too if I had chosen a bowgun!" Kale quickly responded, letting out a sigh of relief as he successfully evaded a second bumrush. He turned quickly, aiming an arrow at the recovering beast. The arrow flashed three times, signifying the various stages of the charge-level, before being released and splitting into eight separate arrows, tearing into the hide of the target with large, black, electrical flashes.

"Let's just get this over with. I only need one more Tigrex Hide to finish the armor set." Konata's character had just caught up, and planted herself firmly between the archer and the Tigrex.

_Amazing how I search her out for comfort after her drunken cousin yells at me and I get dragged into helping her in a game..._ Kale thought to himself, glancing at Konata as her character engaged the Tigrex again. He couldn't help but smile as he watched her play, half-concentrated on the game. As he watched her it dawned upon him why she chose to play games—she could easily do this herself, but if she could keep his mind off his problems then it can't play in his head over and over like they always do and grow into something it wasn't meant to be. _If she knows me so well, does she know how much I appreciate the fact that she does this...? But I guess it's no big deal right now... Maybe she's just using me to get the kill faster, anyway, hm!_

"Oi, Konata..." He turned his attention back to the game, immediately sending several waves of arrows at the enraged Tigrex. Can't let Konata solo it, she'd never let him live it down. Especially after the 'do the hard part' crack...

"Hm? So you finally learned how to say my real name?" Konata questioned, never peeling her gaze away from the game. Her stamina gauge was low, she wouldn't be able to block the next attack... And then the Tigrex staggered back, letting out an angry roar as Kale's arrows ripped into it. _Whew... He's at least got good aim._

"Uh, I..." He was glad Konata was too drawn in by the game to notice his blush. "I didn't notice I said it..."

Konata merely shrugged it off. Metaphorically, of course—if she had moved her shoulders to shrug she would lose a moment of concentration. "Anyway, what's up?"

"I was just wondering if you wanted a snack, hm. My treat?" Kale offered. The Tigrex had limped away from the area, seeking refuge deep within the cave, leaving the two hunters plenty of time to kill it later. Not like it had plans on going anywhere...

Konata finally tore her gaze from the PSP screen and smiled at Kale. "How can I say no to a free snack?"

* * *

Kale stared up at the skies, trying to get as comfortable as he could, given the location they had chosen. Kale, wanting to be alone, had suggested sitting on the roof, under the stars... In his lap lay a plate with several servings of dango, obviously his favorite snack. He glanced at Konata as she sat next to him, chocolate cornet in hand. "They even had your choco-cornets here. Lucky, eh?"

"It's not like my Kale-kun would choose a place that didn't have my favorite snack, right?" Konata responded, sounding as if it was an obvious excuse.

Kale felt a tinge of embarrassment rush through him, and he let out a nervous laugh. "It was just a coincidence, actually..." he admitted, mentally hitting himself for forgetting such a detail...

"I see." Konata stared at the cornet for a moment, as if processing a thought. She then turned to Kale. "But wouldn't it be a bit unfair if they had your dango here and not my cornets?"

"At least you have choices. I'm pickier with my snacks than you, hm." Kale shrugged it off, though he was grateful that luck had been on their side.

"Hey, speaking of choices..." Konata looked to Kale, who gave her a curious glance, as if wondering just what she was going to ask. After all, it was a pretty odd way to start a sentence, no? She held up the cornet for Kale to see. "Which end would you start eating a cornet at?"

Kale stared at the cornet for a moment, eying both ends carefully. "Hm..." He closed his eyes, clearing his mind, and then gave Konata a shrug. "The thin end, I guess."

Konata shifted her gaze back to the cornet. "So you'd start small and work your way up..." She couldn't help but grin, giving Kale a teasing glance. "I always figured you were the type to bite off more than you could handle right from the start."

"Ah, heh..." Kale rubbed the back of his head nervously. He was just about to shove several dango down in one go, and the coincidence caused him to blush a bit. "I try to pace myself the best I can. Doesn't always work, I guess..."

"But don't you jump straight to the hardest difficulty in games? Where's the pacing in that?" Konata questioned, giving Kale a quizzical look. He was a hard one to peg down, constantly changing his opinions and his ways. Though, some part of her enjoyed relearning him after every 'rethinking'...

"Oi, there's a big difference between shoving food down my throat and playing a game," Kale pointed out, his blush already gone. He immediately turned himself to the dango, working on getting his snack down.

"I guess," Konata conceded. She looked up to the sky for a moment, taking in the view of the stars. It was a cloudless night, and the location Kale had chosen to eat alone with her was just a bit more romantic than she was used to from him. "But I am wondering why you chose the roof. It's a bit odd, don't you think? Especially when we have a balcony."

"I just wanted... to be alone," Kale spoke slowly, a blush forming. He sighed. "You know, just you and me..."

"So there won't be as many distractions when we face that Tigrex in the cave?" Konata questioned, smiling. She leaned over, pressing herself against him as she ate. "Always thinking about me... Or was it just the game this time?"

Kale blushed more, though he didn't move to shrug Konata off. "Thinking about you...? In a way, I guess that's true. He put his arm around her shoulders, pulling her a bit closer. Once he did, a single thought came to him, something he couldn't ignore—it just seemed right. "Konata, I've come to a decision, hm."

"A decision?" Konata repeated, confused. She looked to him. "You've decided to drop my nickname?"

"Hn... I want to change. I have to change, really. Take charge of my life, like my dad did with his," Kale explained, ignoring her suggestion. As he spoke several thoughts flashed through his mind, childhood memories of him and Konata, him and his mother... But none of his father. The man he had decided to be more like mere moments ago, the man he looked up to... was the man that he had never met, yet had all the reason in the world to have known his whole life. Funny how things work out...

"I see..." Konata murmured, a bit confused at his sudden declaration. Kale wasn't the type to suddenly change, or make huge decisions, it was all so odd. She stared into his eyes. "... But why now?"

"Never mind the 'why', Konata," was the response. He sounded so sure of himself, so sure in his decision. His eyes drilled straight through Konata's, neither of them blinking. "And for the first step..."

"The first step...?" Konata repeated, not able to really say much. Then again, what _could_ she say?

No sooner had she finished speaking had Kale leapt into action. It took only a single movement, a simple movement of the head, to get his point across. Simply lean in, closer and closer... Without any warning his lips met hers, his arm pulling her closer as he kissed her. Their eyes closed as Konata accepted the kiss, both of them blushing deeply. After holding the kiss for several moments they both slowly pulled away, eyes opening more the further away they moved. Kale smiled. "I won't hide my feelings anymore, Konata..."

Konata blinked, still surprised. Her little male tsundere had kissed her. The little boy she had grown up with, the one she had seen almost every day of her life, save one odd year he was gone... had kissed her. And it didn't feel odd, it wasn't awkward. It felt... right. "K-Kale..."

He merely nodded. "Mhm... Konata, you've been—"

Konata cut him off, catching him a quick kiss. Although he was surprised, he felt himself smile a bit as she did. Afterwards, she laid her head on his shoulder. "You talk too much."

"I do have my bouts of wordiness, hm..." He responded with a chuckle. Although he acted calm and collected, the truth was he was just coming down from a mental high—he talked a big game, but he was still just a scared little kid on the inside. What he had done was seen as a huge risk, with the chance of ruining nearly every friendship he had. At least, that's how he saw it... But how could he grow up and become more like his father, who overshadowed him in nearly every way, without taking chances?

"But couldn't you have chosen a better day? Kuroi just called me your housewife this morning, and now this..." Konata sighed.

* * *

It was late at night, and most of the facilities within the inn were closed. Many of the workers had gone home, leaving only the janitors and the person working at the front desk. Aside from them, only two people were still awake in the building, and they had claimed the roof. They were well-paying customers, however, so nobody saw it fit to tell them customers weren't allowed up there...

The person working the front desk slowly nodded in and out of sleep, obviously not used to being up so late with nothing to occupy himself. So into sleep he was that he didn't even hear the sound of the door opening, nor did he hear the footsteps of a person walking up to the desk. However, when the customer slammed their hand down on the desk, he shot up, eyes wide.

"Ah! Who di- Oh, hello. How may I help you?" He shook his head, trying to wake himself up. He looked at the person standing before him. She had long, dark red hair and deep, dark blue eyes. On top of that, she was tall, standing at nearly six feet in height.

"Yes, I'd like to order a room," she stated, reaching into her purse and producing a thick wad of cash. It dropped onto the desk, hitting it with a loud thud. "Your best room."

"Luckily, a customer just left today, so we do have a room now," the clerk replied, digging through a desk and pulling out the key to a room. He handed it to the woman and then turned to a computer screen. "Your name, miss?"

"Kazehana Makaze."

* * *

Kaito: Lucky Channel! -Card drops- O-ha Lucky!

Kale: Nn... -Big grin-

Kaito: Your hosts Yasuhiro Kaito and Kazehana Kale are here to deliver the new information in the Lucky Star universe!

Kale: I'm here because I have no choice, hm.

Kaito: Yes, yes. We all know you were having a great time at your resort

Kale: Well you can't blame me. Poor Konata is waiting for me as we speak...

Kaito: Congratulations on that. Courage is something all men need.

Kale: Mm... But what's the topic for today?

Kaito: The recently released and highly anticipated dub of the show.

Kale: Oh, that! Hehe...

Kaito: When the company released it, like always, fans felt worried that it would be absolutely terrible

Kale: Not every fan.

Kaito: I suppose 4kids has left a horrible mark on the dubbing community

Kale: Or fans are too picky, hm.

Kaito: From what I've read on various websites, many people have positively reviewed the dub and it's voice actors.

Kale: -Nod nod- Yup. Saw that coming.

Kaito: Optimism saves the day it seems like.

Kale: Mhm...

Kaito: What's the best thing about it? Since you've probably ordered 20 or so copies of the DVD.

Kale: Just one, hm. And I'd have to say Wendee Lee's voice acting.

Kaito: Kona-chan's talented, veteran seiyuu, eh?

Kale: Mhm.

Kaito: Well, I've heard good things about nearly everyone. Music is kept in, the scripting is accurate, and honorifics are actually kept even with the change to English

Kale: Takes a second to get used to the honorifics, but it's not bad.

Kaito: I guess today's lesson is to give dubs a chance.

Kale: Kaito the Sage has spoken.

Kaito: Now with the information that this anime might stretch internationally...let's move to a more important subject

Kale: Mm?

Kaito: So now you are finally with Konata. You've made the move

Kale: I figured I had to have one manly moment, hm. -Nod-

Kaito: And that is indeed, manly. The next manly thing you have to do now is to prepare for impact5

Kale: Impact...?

Kaito: Well, now you've made that leap. One that's hard to come back from. And I'm pretty sure your friends are going to have something about it

Kale: Who said I want to go back, hm? And they'll deal with it.

Kaito: Well, the main thing is you don't want anything to turn sour. Some people have better ways of dealing with news than others

Kale: True, true... But something else has me more worried.

Kaito: The fact that the Izumi family is now going to have control of billions and billions of yen through you? -Smirk-

Kale: -Blink- Huh...

Kale: I was more worried about Makaze, though...

Kaito: Well, there's that, but think about this

Kale: This?

Kaito: Since you and Konata are now in a new comfort zone, she has access to your money. Not to mention that you also have closer ties with Sojiro, Yui and Yutaka, so you might have to deal with them. So in a way, Konata does have more control of you.

Kale: She always had access to my money...

Kaito: It'll be much easier for her now

Kale: 'sides, more she spends, she'll have to make it up to me... Hehehe...

Kaito: I guess you are lucky then

Kale: But now that I have Konata that leaves you with... Hm... Ka-chaan?

Kaito: Who knows... Maybe I'll sway her away from you... :3

Kale: I can make you disappear, you know.

-Ending Fanfare plays-

Kaito: Oh...dang. Time sure flies by. Well, please be sure to send up your fan mail and ideas to the show! And keep an eye out for more merchandise in your country!

Kale: Oh, you better keep an eye out, Kaito-san

Kaito: Bye-ni! -Waves to Camera-

Kale: -Gets up- Konata time. -Leaves-

-Ending Card Drops-

Kaito: Wait, what I'm going to have to worry about?

-Kale is heard closing the door behind him-

Kaito: Oh damn, this is bad. Nothing will happen. Everyone would notice my disappearance, right...Right...?

-TV cuts off-


	18. Chapter 18

Wow, a week late. I suck... Anyway, thanks for all the reviews - They really helped kick me out of this writers' block. Still, I forced myself a bit, so... Well, hey, I at least accomplished what I was aiming to with this chapter, so that's something. As for why Konata was chosen over Kagami... That's for another chapter.

* * *

"Where did Ayano and Kagami get to?" Takeshi spoke aloud, a tinge of annoyance clear in his voice. He strolled through the lobby, hands shoved in his pockets, back slouched slightly. He was dressed normally as today was the day that the group was going home, and they hadn't enough time to do very much.

His eyes slowly covered the entire room in search of the two missing friends, not a single face going unnoticed. It was quite annoying to him, the sheer size of the inn, as it made it too easy for people to disappear. Everyone in the room was accounted for, and while none of them were either of his friends, one did stick out. One dressed in an orange yukata, with long red hair and a very obnoxious aura about her...

The woman was walking towards the hall directly behind Takeshi, most likely towards her room. Takeshi watched her for a moment, carefully studying where her eyes went, watching for any indication that she was headed towards him and not the hallway. No such indication came, much to Takeshi's relief, and he began to make his way to the exit.

"Takeshi." The woman nodded to him once she came within a few feet of him. Her blue eyes bore straight into him, as if she was trying to extract something from him...

"Kazehana..." he slowly responded, returning the nod. The last thing he wanted was to deal with Kale's mother, especially given his few run-ins with her in the past, no matter how scarce they were.

"I assume you know where Kale is," she folded her arms as she spoke, never letting up her glare. Her words came slowly, each being spoken carefully, which only served to make her come across as much more intimidating than she actually was. "Would I be correct?"

"Of course I do," Takeshi responded, not allowing himself to let out even a chuckle. It should have been obvious to him that she were here to see him, though it was odd that she was able to locate them so quickly. Then again, Kale does keep his money in the bank, making him easy for someone like her to track...

"Excellent. Simply tell me where he is and I will be on my way," Makaze stated, though it came across as more of a demand. As a woman of power and wealth she just wasn't used to not having all of her requests immediately fulfilled...

"Why do you suddenly want to see him? I know you, it can't be some motherly need," Takeshi did just what she wasn't used to - He didn't step down. As a man of considerable strength and reputation he just wasn't used to giving in to just anyone. He folded his arms, returning her glare. "So, whats he have that you need?"

"_That_ is none of your business. Where is he?" Makaze restated her question, intensifying her glare.

Takeshi rolled his eyes. Such a woman, how could she be a mother? He held back a sigh before speaking up. "You really don't know him at all, do you? Now, I know it's not your strongpoint, but think about him for a moment; it's only 8, where do you _think_ he is?"

"You assume too much. I know he's still asleep, he gets that from his father. I meant the room. The damned manager won't let them tell me his room number," Makaze spoke faster, as if she were in a rush. Or perhaps she was just getting anxious, feeling as if Takeshi was close to giving her the information she needed...

"Well keep trying," Takeshi shrugged. He shoved his hands back into his pant pockets and began to walk towards the exit yet again. "Just so happens I only know where the room is, and I'm busy."

_Normally I'd warn you, Kale, but if I went to the room she'd just follow me_, he thought to himself as he walked outside, looking down the various paths that lead to other sections of the compound. Finally he sighed. _Where did those damn women get to?_

"What an annoying woman," Takeshi stated, his story finished. He stood with his back against a tree, a bench near him which seated Kagami, Ayano, and Tsukasa. Letting out a sigh, he looked up to the sky, or at least the bit of it he could see between the leaves.

Kagami looked back to Takeshi. "Oi, don't say it like it's anything special. You think all women are annoying."

"You aren't helping that delusion, either," Takeshi responded slowly, having expected such a response. Kagami was so quick to comment... Then again, he knew a few others who were quicker to speak, like a certain two otakus.

"What was that?" Kagami growled, glaring at Takeshi. Perhaps she was just too used to the polite types like Kale, who never made sexist comments like that, but Takeshi was just grating on her nerves...

"I never thought Kale's mom would be so—" Tsukasa began to speak, but she suddenly stopped as realization dawned upon her. She slowly turned to Kagami, looking rather disturbed. "I think I had a run-in with her earlier!"

Tsukasa stepped out of the dressing room, walking into the hallway. She was dressed casually, ready to head home at any moment now that she had had one last trip to the hotsprings. As she walked down the hall she barely paid any attention to where she was walking, instead more focused on the ribbon that was in her soaked hair. She hadn't put it in for two days, and now had to get back into the jist of things. As she walked down the hallway she spoke to herself. "I wonder where Onee-chan went..."

She continued down the hallway, focused on the ribbon on her head, working to make sure it was at least somewhat symmetrical, though she knew it wouldn't be perfect; however, having it horrendously lopsided was annoying. She couldn't help but let out a gent 'eep!' when she happened to bump into someone, stumbling back several steps in shock. The woman she had bumped into was tall, towering over her, dressed in an orange yukata which only made her long red hair stand out more while the hair served to make her bright blue eyes be more noticeable. She smiled weakly. "O-Oh, I'm sorry. Silly me, not paying attention..."

"Ai, first I can't find my stupid son, and now this? You had better start paying attention to where you're going instead of your hair—I'm not in the mood to put up with annoying teenagers any more than I have to," the woman seethed, glaring down at Tsukasa, blue eyes almost tearing into the poor girl's very being.

"Y-Yeah, I'll start..." Tsukasa nodded, quickly walking around the woman and heading down the hall. She let out a weak sigh, holding her hands against her belly. This always happens when Kagami isn't around...

Kagami shook her head, almost disgusted at how this woman was being portrayed. "You mean she got all huffy just because you bumped into her? I can't imagine Kale being related to someone like that."

"She's always huffy over something. Someone or something must have happened to her years ago that she still isn't over. I don't know, I don't know women very well," Takeshi explained, shrugging at the end. Makaze was always a mystery to him; all he knew was that she was some pissy rich woman, and that she and Kale were on horrible terms, though he never knew why she was so angry. He always figured that the 'someone or something' was just Kale; hell, who _wouldn't_ be mad if they had to deal with Kale every day for years? Well, aside from people who are or are related to the Izumis... He turned his gaze back to the three women. "Besides, she could be worse."

"Eh? She could be worse?" Kagami questioned, surprised at Takeshi's claim. How could she be worse? Dozens of ideas ran through her head, some normal, such as her being violent towards Kale, others more fantasy-oriented, with her dining on the souls of the unfortunate teenagers who had angered her...

"She never yells," Takeshi stated, as if it were a well-known fact. He was never one to make things more dramatic then they had to be—that was Kale's job. His answers were always direct and to the point...

"Oh? She doesn't?" Ayano asked, giving Takeshi a curious look. "The way Kale talks about her... It just always seemed like she yelled a lot."

"Well, I can't vouch for her all the time. I just know that the few times I've met her she's never once yelled. She's more into those looks and that tone she uses when she talks. Much more effective," Takeshi explained. Though he wouldn't admit it, those tactics sometimes even worked on him. Should he have to face her for very long, he'd usually crumble under her persistence and general meanness. He looked to Kagami. "Now is when Kale would say, 'Oi, stop giving Kagami ideas!'"

"I don't need you telling me what he'd say. Let me just enjoy the time I have with him not around," Kagami huffed in response. She quickly looked away from Takeshi as a blush formed on her cheeks, and she quickly yelled out to him. "Besides, he calls me 'Ka-chaan'!"

"Hmph, whatever..."

* * *

"Ngh..." Kale groaned as he forced himself out of the room. He wasn't dressed in one of the inn's yukatas anymore, having replaced it with blue pants and a light purple shirt. His hands made their way to his pockets as he sighed, head hanging from a lack of energy. "It's too early..."

"That's what happens when you have a weekend vacation. You always have to leave early to get home on time," Konata commented from behind him, patiently waiting for him to step away from his position directly in front of the door. She quickly left the room as soon as he did, walking down the hall with him.

"Mm..." Kale didn't sound too happy at Konata's sudden burst of wisdom, immediately letting out a yawn. He walked closer to the blue haired otaku, wrapping an arm around her waist to pull her closer so he could lay his head on her shoulder. "I guess I didn't think it through all the way, ne?"

"It can't be that bad. After all, you wake up this early for school normally, don't you?" Konata responded, attempting to poke holes in his complaints like she normally did. Despite that, and her blush, she wasn't exactly against the sudden closeness—she just wasn't used to Kale pulling her closer. Judging by his own light blush, neither was he. Despite the minor awkwardness, they weren't uncomfortable.

Kale slowly lifted his head up to look at her, blue eyes staring into her green. His blush intensified just a bit, though he did smile. "Normally I'd love to sleep in, but spending time with my Konata-chan is also important, hm."

Konata smiled, quickly leaning in and placing her lips on his, moving one hand up to the back of his head to pull him in a bit more. She held the kiss for several moments, receiving no opposition from Kale until she began to peel her lips away. Her tongue slowly ran across her top lip, her mind slowly processing something. She turned her attention back to him, pulling him closer yet again and drawing him into another kiss. Her tongue slowly ran itself along his lip, going from one end to the other before she broke the kiss. "Hm..."

Kale blinked, his blush growing stronger. He was taken off-guard by Konata's sudden jump in intimacy, though he had no problems with it. "K-Konata's more affectionate than I thought she'd be, hm..."

"You have sweet lips," Konata commented, brushing off Kale's surprised expression, as her previous action had yet to register to her. She grinned, giving Kale a teasing glance, a knowing glint in her eye. "Must be from all the sweets you eat."

"Hn, I should have expected something like that..." Kale sighed, feeling defeated. A part of him was hoping for more kisses like that in the near future, although the more rational side of his mind was looking forward to a steady climb in intimacy and not quick jumps. But then again, who really listened to the rational side of their mind? He looked away from her, as he always did when he blushed.

"My perverted little Kale should stop being so shy," Konata commented, sounding a bit disappointed, though a part of her was pleased with Kale's pseudo-tsundere attitude. She grinned at him for a moment, which caused him to look away as he blushed again before motioning for them to continue walking towards the lobby. Kale merely nodded, having nothing to say. He followed her as she walked, at first walking alongside her, though he gradually started to fall behind as they got farther and farther down the hallway

"Oi, Konata walks too fast for me..." Kale complained, now trailing a few feet behind Konata. He let out a sigh, folding his arms and slowing down even more—after all, if he's going to walk too slow anyway, he might as well walk at his usual pace and fight off exhaustion...

Konata looked over her shoulder to the purple haired boy. "You're just too slow, Kale," she responded, though she did start to walk a bit slower so he could catch up. A thought suddenly came to her, causing her to twirl around to face him, grinning perversely. "Makes me wonder how you'll be when I get you in—"

"Ah, it seems I've finally found you, my son."

A voice cut off Konata, coming from behind her. Konata had to turn around to see who had spoken, though Kale was able to see who it was the whole time. He simply stared in shock, completely unprepared to see this woman with blood-red hair and piercing blue eyes—the woman he had to call mother. She glared down at him, completely ignoring Konata, who was merely giving her an annoyed look. "Hello Kale."

Kale continued to stare at her. His eyes slowly worked their way from her face, going down her body, and then back up, as if searching for a single feature to prove it wasn't the woman he knew her to be, though no such confirmation came. "Ma-Makaze...?" he stammered out, his voice barely audible. As soon as he said it he turned around, slowly walking away, though he knew that that wouldn't be enough...

"Well, this kills the mood..." Konata muttered, letting out a sigh before following after her retreating boyfriend. She put her arm around his shoulders once she caught up to him, leaning against him in an attempt to help soothe him. He gently leaned back against her, letting her know that it was working.

"And just where are you going, then?" Makaze questioned, having not budged from her position. She folded her arms as she glared at them, which seemed to add to the power of her glare.

"W-We have to get ready to leave. R-Right, Konata-ch-chan?" Kale stammered in response, picking up his pace as he retreated back to their room, which forced Konata to walk faster to keep up. Why was he moving so quickly, though? he wondered. So desperate... He had never been like this before. Sure, Makaze had disturbed him, gotten under his skin, pestered him a bit more than he was used to, but... she never outright frightened him like she had now. Perhaps it was that too much was changing—first his relationship with Konata, and now his mother showing up. He was never used to change, after all... Or maybe it was that he was used to her not being around now. It had been a good few months... He shook his head, knocking the thoughts out of his mind—he was trying to escape this problem; focusing on it wouldn't help him achieve that goal...

Konata stared at Kale for a moment, trying to read his mind. "Yeah..." she responded, giving him a sympathetic look. She hadn't seen him this shaken by Makaze in a long time, though it didn't seem very odd to her. _Poor Kale, so desperate to avoid her... And poor me! I was enjoying the closeness..._

Kale quickly made his way to the group's room, closing the door behind him, though there was no lock so he couldn't ensure that they would be left alone. Once the door closed, he looked less frightened, sitting in a corner with his back to the wall. "Nngh, this is annoying... Why is she here?" he asked aloud, letting out a sigh. "Konata-chan is more important than this, why can't I just focus on her instead?"

Konata smiled, blushing slightly at his comment. She couldn't help but wonder if he knew he was talking aloud or not; he was fairly oblivious to the times where he said his thoughts out loud for everyone to hear. She sat next to him, snuggling up to him in an attempt to calm him down as much as possible, though the topic couldn't be avoided. "What if it was just a coincidence that she ran into us? I doubt she actually searched you out..."

"Hn, that must be it," Kale slammed his fist into his hand. "She must be here to get rid of me!"

"Shouldn't you be the avenger in this situation, though?" Konata was quick to point out, deflating his fear and upping his ego a bit. She turned away, scratching her cheek with a single finger. "Why would she bother, anyway? You're not much of a threat."

"Ngh... Then she sensed I was happy and came over here to put an end to it, hm!" he declared, jumping to yet another conclusion. However, this one seemed the more plausible. For whatever reason, his mom hated him, though she never spoke ill of his father...

Konata grinned, kissing his cheek quickly. "But you just got me last night. She couldn't have traveled that fast."

"Hehe, Konata-chan is full of herself if she thinks I was just happy for the first time last night," Kale pointed out, poking her nose playfully. Although he was quick to shoot down her claim, she did bring him to smile. And it wasn't as if he wasn't immensely happy... Though Konata did raise an excellent point—it simply wasn't possible.

Konata's grin widened. "Of course! The lolicon otaku got an otaku loli girlfriend! What else could you have wanted?"

"Hn, I have other interests besides lolis..." Kale looked away from her, casually dismissing her claim. He then drew her into a hug, squeezing her tightly. "But my Mijikai-chan is the best one, hehe..."

"Don't do that while I'm around." Makaze's voice knocked them out of their little romance. She had followed them, and was now leaning against the doorframe of the open door, glaring at them.

Kale looked up to her, feeling much more secure in his room, even if it wasn't exactly his room. He had to face her, anyway, with nowhere else to go. "Then go away, hm."

_Should I leave? I have nothing to do with this. What's the girlfriend's job in a time like this?_ Konata thought, focusing her attention and gaze on Kale. He didn't look too happy, but the frightened persona he exhibited minutes ago was gone; now he just looked mad.

"If I didn't have to come here to talk to you, then we would have already had this conversation. It's not my fault you decided to come here after your little girlfriend," Makaze spoke slowly, emphasizing every word. Her cold tone seemed to bite into the two teenagers.

"Little?" Konata sounded a bit offended at the comment. She _is_ little, but that's not the point...

"Hn, what conversation?" Kale questioned. He put his arm around Konata and pulled her a bit closer to keep her from pressing the 'little' issue...

Makaze couldn't help but sigh, her head hanging in annoyance. "You're so annoying with how you talk, you know that? Ugh. Anyway..." She took a few steps into the room before turning to face the two, arms crossed. "I'm going to see your father. And I want you to come."

"Aoshi-san?" Konata was a bit surprised. Kale's father was an enigma to her and Kale, though Makaze's father was once on friendly terms with him. Sojiro had always said how Kale was a lot like Aoshi once you looked past the shortness and shyness—basically, Aoshi was a non-shota version of Kale. Despite Aoshi's lack of a role in Kale's life, he was rather fond of Kale—after all, Kale's wealthy for a reason. Konata turned to Makaze. "Why would you bring Kale to see him?"

"I don't want to meet him," Kale stated simply. Truthfully, he desperately wanted to meet Aoshi. However, if Makaze wanted him to go, there had to be a reason behind it. There was a reason behind everything she did, without exception. And it couldn't be a good reason.

"You're aware that this may be your only chance to, right?" Makaze pointed out.

"I don't need to meet him, hm," Kale lied again.

"Dammit kid, can't you just not be such a pain in the ass for once!?" Makaze spoke a bit louder, obviously angered at being denied. She huffed, though she forced herself to stand still.

"Hehe, I could..." Kale grinned at her anger. It was always so fulfilling when he was able to get on her nerves, and even better when he knew exactly what to say. "But I just like bugging you, hm."

"You know what? Fine. I didn't just come here to see you, anyway." Makaze immediately shrugged it off, making her way to the door. She glanced back at the two before leaving. "But don't think this is over."

"Mm, it never is with you..." Kale sighed. He looked back to Konata, relieved that Makaze was gone and happy to be alone with her again.

"That was annoying, ne?"

"Yes, but now that it's over..." Konata leaned in, giving him a quick kiss. She pulled away a millimeter before pressing herself forward again, kissing him a second time, though this time she held the kiss for a few moments before pulling away and laying her head on his shoulder.

"Hnn..." Kale smiled, pulling her a bit closer to him. However, a ringing sound caused him to sigh. He reached into his pocket and pulled out a sleek, black cell phone, staring at it with an annoyed expression. "Never get a break, hm? Ai, Konataaaaa, it's time to go. The limo will be here in a few minutes..."


	19. Chapter 19

A/N Time: Seems I've fallen behind my buddy Nuke by one chapter. Geez, I don't even want to begin to understand how I messed up this easy update order.

Well, we're reaching the last leg of the journey. I fully intend to finish this fic without breaking into the 30s chapter-wise, and I'm more than convinced that I'm able to do so comfortably. Makaze doesn't seem to have made a very good first impression, as hoped, and I know none of you expect me to keep such an unlikeable character around for very long, so... Yes, do expect another mini-plot to start up and lead to the end of the fic.

After this I fully intend to close the book on Kale's story, so don't expect another 30-chapter-fic from me to continue this story. Perhaps in the future I'll add another chapter or two to extend the story somewhat, but aside from a full rewrite (( Which I am considering, since my opening chapters sadden me quality-wise )) I don't intend to open up any giant projects involving Kale as a main character again, unless it's a cowrite...

Though, I do have an idea or two for Takeshi... I believe he's done enough to warrant a 35 chapter fic... But that's for another time.

As usual if there are any problems/questions/suggestions/criticism with the fic (( I _do_ respond to negative feedback, so long as it's, you know, actually _feedback_ )) then please don't hesitate to contact me, be it in a review or e-mail. While I may seem a bit unwilling to alter my plans I'm still very open to suggestions and perfectly willing to alter things...

No Lucky Channel, either. They may come back in the future, but I'm not entirely sure. I was never a big fan of them in the show nor the fic, so unless Nuke/Readers are adamant on it I don't much see the point.

/talk

* * *

"Ossu," Kagami greeted, raising one hand to wave at her four friends bunched together. As usual, they had slid four desks together to chat as they ate their lunch with one sleeping head buried under a wave of purple hair, and, as usual, Kagami had to push a desk into place alongside Konata and Tsukasa's desks before pulling out her bento.

"Oh, Kagami," Konata spoke up after swallowing a bite of her cornet, turning to face the newcomer. She grinned playfully. "You're here later than usual. What's wrong, finally made some friends in your class who held you up?"

"For your information I was just feeling lazy today, so I didn't rush," Kagami quickly responded, closing her eyes to avoid making eye contact with Konata as she began to eat. She brought up a piece of food, held by chopsticks, to her mouth, though she turned to Konata and spoke before eating it. "Besides, you're not someone who can question how many friends I have."

Konata turned away from her friend, holding a hand to her cheek to emphasize a mock blush. "Kagamin sure is cute when she takes things so seriously," she commented, grinning to herself. Kagami merely let out a sigh as she ate, deciding it was better to ignore Konata than to give her a response. Konata turned back to the group, everyone eating in silence for a few moments, though Konata quickly broke it. "You said you were feeling lazy today? That's not like you, Kagami. What's up?"

"It's nothing like what you think it is, Konata," Kagami replied, planting her elbow on the table and resting her hand in her palm. She let out a sigh before continuing. "I'm just a bit drained, you know? I haven't adjusted from the trip."

"Ah, so it's not just me then," Tsukasa spoke with a smile, glad to hear that she wasn't the only one feeling a bit off.

"Oh yes, I understand the feeling," Miyuki admitted, smiling brightly as always. "I suppose going on such a vacation and then school so quickly isn't such a wonderful idea."

"Aii, I can completely relate..." Konata groaned, leaning her back against the seat and throwing her arms up to stretch. She quickly brought her arms down, placing them on the table and laying her head in them. "I'm just going to go to sleep after my anime tonight; hopefully baseball won't push it back too late..."

"You know, you could take that extra time to do homework," Kagami pointed out, speaking with an icy tone. Konata's laid back personality and obsession with anime had always gotten on her last nerve, something that would most likely never change.

"Oh Kagamin, if you'd be so kind as to bring your homework over during that time then I'd love to copy it," Konata responded in a sing-song voice, smiling cutely at her now annoyed tsundere friend.

"You're never going to pass the finals if you keep copying off of me!" Kagami blurted out, unable to contain herself anymore. She huffed and quickly turned her attention to her meal, ignoring Konata's smug grin.

A soft groan was heard from next to Konata, the pile of purple hair moving as its owner was awoken. Kale slowly lifted his head, tired eyes scanning the group. "Ah, Ka-chaan is here..." he commented, more to himself than to the others.

"Nice of you to finally join us," Kagami responded between bites. She had long since grown used to Kale's laziness and tendency to sleep whenever possible, and it simply didn't bug her anymore—at least, not as much. Odd that she could get used to that, but not Konata's tendencies...

"Mm... I had a bad night..." Kale spoke slowly. It was true, he had had a bad night; once he left the Izumis', he was all alone—just him and his mind, with just one thing echoing through it: his mother's request. He shook his head gently and leaned back against his chair to prevent himself from laying his head down and going back to sleep.

"You always have a bad night..." Konata pointed out, though she did scoot her chair over an inch and lean against him, smiling softly at the closeness as a small blush formed on her cheeks—they had yet to do anything in front of the others, and even though it was just small contact it still counted. She looked up at him, giving him a teasing look. "And then you always complain about it the next day. Why don't you try sleeping pills?"

"Nn, Konata just wants to drug me up..." Kale mockingly replied, causing her to grin. He leaned against her, both using the other for support, wrapping his arm around her waist.

"Oi... You two are being awfully... close," Kagami pointed out. She couldn't help but stare a bit, like Tsuskasa, while Miyuki didn't seem as confused by it as the Hiiragis. Several thoughts rushed through the tsundere's head, leading her to a sudden realization. "Hey! Something happened during the trip, didn't it!?"

"Hm... About that..." Kale spoke slowly, picking his words carefully as a surge of worry went through him. Being so tired, he was unable to realize why Konata was blushing over what seemed like nothing, but now it was painfully obvious—the others. He looked Kagami in the eye, unsure of what to say. Truthfully, he had grown quite close to her in the past few months, and he had the feeling she had grown fond of him. Then again, tsunderes were amazingly hard to read. He looked her in the eye. "Well... Thing is, Ka-chaan..."

"Oh, just a little something," Konata shrugged off Kagami's outburst, bringing her face up to Kale's and pressing her lips against his gently. Both of their faces lit up in a blush, Kale's more than Konata's, as they hadn't quite been able to get used the idea of public displays of affection.

They held the kiss for only a moment before Kale pulled away, uncomfortable with the look they were getting from Kagami. Kale looked from Konata to Kagami, smiling sheepishly. "Leave it to my Konata to be so straightforward, hm... Hehe..."

"I had expected something like this," Miyuki admitted, smiling innocently. "Ever since that talk we had a while ago, Kale-san. You sure did take your time, though."

"Kale's too shy to just try things right away," Konata commented, poking Kale's blushing cheek playfully. "It's part of what makes him so cute."

"Mm? Too shy to try things right away?" Kale questioned. He sighed a bit, poking her shoulder. "But wasn't I the one that kissed my Konata?"

"Hey, we don't want to hear your little love stories..." Kagami muttered, shifting her attention back to her meal in an attempt to curb a rising feeling of anger.

"Ngh, now Ka-chan is angry at me..." Kale spoke, letting out a whimper. Kagami was just plain vicious when she was mean. Or, at least, it seemed that way to Kale. He was quite timid despite his experience dealing with his mother, and wasn't entirely comfortable with having a woman's anger directed at him. It didn't help that he didn't understand why she was annoyed—It was obvious that she was troubled by his and Konata's relationship, but it didn't seem like her to just be angry over _that_...

"Hmph, I'm not mad at you. I'm just in a bad mood because I gained some weight," Kagami lied. Truthfully, even she wasn't exactly sure why it bothered her so much. Kale was annoying, to say the least, as was Konata - She should be _glad_ that they had a reason to concentrate on her less.

"I have heard that people tend to gain weight during vacations, Kagami. Perhaps that is why you've gained some weight," Miyuki offered, innocently trying to calm Kagami down. She did have a point, though—they had just come back from a vacation at a place where they literally paid to sit down and relax, so it wasn't surprising if all of them gained some weight.

"Looks like Kagamin's going to need to work extra hard losing the weight from her relaxing vacation. Ironic, huh?" Konata grinned as she spoke, amused at Kagami's predicament. Kagami's weight issue was always something Konata found amusing, after all...

"Ugh, I don't even want to think about it," Kagami groaned, holding her head in annoyance. How annoying. First Konata announces that she and Kale are together, and now she's making fun of her weight problems. Typical Konata... Then a thought came to her, something she had been meaning to bring up. Better now to help her change the subject off of herself. She looked to Kale. "Oh yeah, I've been meaning to ask. Who was that woman you were talking to at the inn? She wasn't an employee, so was she a friend?"

"Mm? Oh, that was my mother," Kale answered casually, as if it were nothing.

Kagami blinked, obviously surprised. Of all people, the last one she expected to even catch a glimpse of was this boy's mother. "_That_ was your mother? But she was so—"

"Tall?" Konata cut Kagami off, grinning at Kale.

"Konata is one to talk..." Kale mumbled, avoiding making eye contact with Konata. His displeasure at her comment only made it more amusing for her.

Kagami sighed, annoyed at the interruption. Once she was sure she had their attention, she continued. "Anyway... I was going to say, she didn't look anything like you."

"Mm..." Kale mumbled, thinking to himself for a moment. He turned to Kagami, raising a finger and pointing at his face. "Well, I've been told that I have her ears, nose, and sense of hair style."

"Well, your hair covers your ears and I didn't pay attention to her nose so I can't comment, but whoever told you that is right about the hair," Kagami eyed a few long strands of hair that came down over Kale's shoulder. _Jeez, almost as long as Konata's..._

"Yeah, Kale's hair is very feminine," Konata giggled, taking a few strands of dark purple hair in her hand and holding it out to point out just how long it is.

"Oi Konata, don't play with my hair, hm..." Kale complained, moving his head away from Konata in an attempt to free his hair from her gentle hands. He stopped at the slightest sign of resistance, obviously due to her grip, defeated. He knew that Konata would never intentionally pull his hair out, but there were always mistakes, and with him being overprotective of his hair...

"If your mother is tall with red hair, then is your father short with purple hair?" Miyuki questioned, having given it a lot of thought before mentioning.

"Mm? Short with purple hair? How did Yuki-san come up with that?" Kale questioned, both him and Konata having stopped what they were doing to turn to Miyuki.

"Because you would fit the theme, of course," Miyuki smiled innocently. Her smile wavered a bit as she noticed the weird looks she had earned, so she decided it was best to explain. "Out of the five of us, four of us are females. We all look a lot like our mothers. That's our 'theme'. It would make sense for the male to look like his father, then."

"Nn, something about your logic doesn't seem right..." Kale muttered to himself, tapping his finger to his chin for a moment as he thought over something. He turned to Miyuki, folding his arms and smiling as knowledge came to him. "Well, Yuki-san might be right, but I don't know much about my dad at all, so I can't tell."

"You looked like you actually knew something for once," Kagami sighed, shaking her head in disappointment. "Somehow, I knew it was too good to be true."

"But I already told you I don't know anything... Lay off..." Kale sighed, his head drooping in despair. The _last_ thing he needed in his drained condition was to be attacked for his family troubles...

"Time to change subjects," Konata commented, gently rubbing Kale's back. He leaned against her a bit, a smile visible. _He's so easy to cheer up..._

* * *

"Looks like you made it through another day," Konata smiled to Kale as she walked by his side, following him down the short hallway in his home that lead to his room.

"Looks like you have me right where you want me, ne Konata?" Kale grinned, feeling his cheeks flare up in a blush. He hadn't been thinking as he threw himself onto his bed, though the moment he felt Konata over him, her legs touching his slightly, her blue hair gently falling over and mixing with his own purple mess of hair, he was jolted back to his senses.

"Looks like it," Konata responded, speaking in almost a whisper. She was now sitting on his waist, her hands pressed firmly into the bed as she leaned over her catch, her emerald eyes staring into his sapphire eyes...

Kale smiled as Konata lowered her head down towards his, pressing her lips against his gently. He slowly lifted his head up, enhancing the contact between their lips. Konata slowly snaked her arms under him, hugging her body tightly against his as she deepened the kiss, blushing slightly as she felt Kale's hands find their way to her waist, though the blush lightened a bit as he resisted temptation and slowly slid his hands up her back to return her hug.

They stayed like that for a few moments before Konata opted to peel her lips away, moving her hands out from under Kale and using them to prop herself up as she went back to leaning over her captured boyfriend, grinning down at him despite his content smile. "You didn't think you'd get me in your bed so soon, did you?" She teased, though she blushed a bit at her comment. Sure, it was nothing more than a perverted joke, which she should be used to making. But she had never made a joke like that under these circumstances...

"Mm, Mijikai-chan's denying me her lips to make perverted comments?" Kale complained, pouting. He rubbed her back for a moment before swiftly pulling her down and to the side, laying her next to him on the bed and catching her in a kiss before she could react.

Konata blinked, caught off-guard by Kale's sudden surge of energy, though she wasn't about to complain. She smiled to herself, returning his kiss happily. _Oh Kale, good to know you won't always let me be on top._

* * *

Kale stared into the somewhat foggy mirror above his sink; the warm, moist air brought a sense of calm to his wet body, wearing nothing more than a towel around his waist. He slowly raised a wet hand to the mirror, wiping away the fog the steam from the shower had left, revealing his reflection to himself. A sigh escaped him as he stared at himself, inspecting his appearance.

There was nothing outstandingly spectacular about his appearance. In fact, he looked... plain. He had tired eyes, near-closed but not quite like those characters in anime who never opened their eyes but saw perfectly fine. His hair was like a wave, coming over his shoulders and down his chest as well as down his back, with a single tuft of hair that came down the middle of his forehead, splitting in half at the top of his nose and going down to just over his top lip. Black rings were forming under his eyes, due to a lack of sleep from the previous few nights, though it was nothing he wouldn't be rid of in a week or so. Overall, he didn't see himself as someone who particularly stood out, except to a certain collection of people due to his stature. His mind trailed to Konata - What did she think of him, his appearance? She was never critical of how his appearance, unlike many other people, but she never really commented on how he looked. She'd always say 'Kale-kun is cute _when he does..._', or '_When Kale acts like this _he's cute...', but never commented on his overall appearance. _Hm, I think I'm thinking too much again. If she had a problem she'd have said it by now._

He lifted his head slightly, rubbing his chin and cheeks curiously, searching for any hairs that may have started growing in the past 24 hours; he found nothing, just like he did last night, and the night before, and every other night since he began to worry about the need to shave. A relieved sigh escaped him as he rubbed the back of his head, grinning sheepishly—his lazy side was happy that he didn't need to do anything to keep up his appearance, while another part of him wished for at least some change, though it wasn't worth stressing. He lowered his head to look back into the mirror, though there was nothing much left to see besides his average, undefined chest, slumped shoulders and muscle-less arms. He wouldn't be winning anything in Phys. Ed. anytime soon, but at least he wasn't stringy...

With that done, he turned around to the towel rack, grabbing a second towel and tossing it over his head. He rubbed it furiously, causing his long hair to thrash about wildly, slowly bringing the towel down to the lower half of his hair and rub it dry as well. Finished, he laid the wet towel over his head and opened the bathroom door, letting the steam spill out into the hallway. Directly in front of him was the door to his room, which required little more than a gently push to open, allowing Kale access to the dark, cold room. He quickly dried his small body off with both towels before slipping into a comfortable pair of clothes to sleep in, wasting no time and crawling onto his firm, comfortable mattress and laying his head on his poofy, bubbly pillow.

_Not a bad day... But I think Kagami's mad at me..._ he thought to himself, bringing his hands up and covering his face, letting out a sigh. A lazy kid like him just wasn't suited for things like this—the stress, that is. Not only did he have to actually work in class to fulfill his own mission to emulate his father; now he had to deal with his mother's request echoing through his mind... _Meet your father..._ It kept replaying, over and over, like a broken record. He had denied her outright, without taking even a moment to think it over, though the truth was he desperately wanted to. However, he refused to do so with his conniving mother, who he was convinced had some vicious plan ready to implement. Though, he couldn't help but feel as if there was some deeper purpose to her request. _Ugh, I don't even want to think about it..._

His ear jerked, picking up the faint noise of his doorbell ringing. He let out a sigh as he heaved himself out of bed, dragging his feet as he slowly made his way out of the room, down the hallway, through the kitchen and to the front door. The doorbell rang again as he reached for the top lock, quickly undoing its metal bar and unlocking the key lock. He stepped back to allow himself to open the door, which swung inward, revealing exactly what he _didn't_ want to see...

"Oi, can't you just leave me alone?" he asked, annoyed, already knowing the answer. His eyes traveled up his visitor, meeting her own blue eyes, which were glaring at him.

"I have as much of a right to this place as you do, kiddo," came the quick reply as Makaze strolled in, rudely bumping into him as she did. "I suppose I'll be taking the guest room, correct?"

"And you won't be leaving until you convince me to see things your way, hm..." Kale sighed, finishing his mother's thought process.

"Of course. I'm never turned down."


	20. Chapter 20

Okay, I know I'm... Very amazingly late. But I do have an excuse, at least. Life has been calling; I got a job which sucks a lot of my time, and I've grown closer to my girlfriend than before, so I devote more of my time to her now(Ahem, not like I was slacking in that regard before, mind you :); )...

This isn't anywhere near a full chapter. It's just something I've had set aside for a while; Little is better than nothing, yes? Besides, the mood-change between the last scene and the next scene will be better covered by a chapter-switch, so it works out in the end. Also, ignore any typos past the first scene please; My proofreader disappeared for a week, due to camp, and I'm scrambling to replace her for a week(And get a second proofreader overal...).

_You can expect this fic to still update_, as I refuse to set aside something I've worked on for so long to just die.

So no, I haven't disappeared...

* * *

"You aren't going to eat?"

Makaze's words shattered the silence she and Kale had been stuck in for the past twenty minutes. She glanced up at her son, boredly making note of his melancholy expression as he sat perfectly still in his seat directly across from her. His head was tilted slightly, though not enough for his bangs to shield his eyes—which were staring down at the bowl placed before him—from her vision. His hands were gripping the sides of his chair uncomfortably as realization finally dawned upon him—realization of the fact that the simple life he had enjoyed for the past few months, the life that he wished would never end, was currently on hold as his scornful mother took residence in his house.

"I never eat in the morning," came his reply, spoken slowly, as if he were picking each word carefully in an attempt to mask his disdain. He shifted in his seat a bit uncomfortably, able to feel the sting of her gaze as she watched him like a predator stalking its prey—and indeed he was her prey, though of the psychological variety.

"Yeah? Maybe you should," Makaze commented as she slid her chair back and lifted herself to her feet, grabbing the rim of the bowl she had just eaten out of before walking to the sink and placing it in there—the first of what would undoubtedly become many. She turned back to her son, brushing several strands of dark red hair from her vision with a single swing of her hand. Immediately afterward, she placed it on her hip, her other hand placed on the counter and supporting her weight as she leaned to the side. "You'd at least have some more energy to work with. And you can't grow if you don't eat."

"I doubt I have much growing left in me, hm," Kale responded a moment later, spoke slowly like his previous response. His shoulders heaved slightly as he let out a heavy sigh, his discontent reaching its peak. He tugged at the collar of his gakuran, skillfully undoing the top button before pulling his hand away. Just being in the same room at her was making it difficult for him to breath, and he couldn't figure out why. It wasn't fear, as he simply wasn't scared of her. Perhaps it was discomfort. His hand slid down an inch, to the second button on his gakuran, slowly beginning to undo it in an attempt to relieve himself from the choking feeling.

"Son, cut that out." Her commanding voice caused Kale's hand to freeze, the button slipping out of his delicate fingers, still holding his gakuran together. His blue eyes travelled from the bowl he had been absent-mindedly staring into for the past half hour, carrying his vision towards the direction his mother's voice had come from. She was already by his side, stepping behind him and reaching down. This caused him to tense up as he felt her hands on his shoulders, though they quickly made their way down and fixed the button he had previously undone. He allowed himself to relax, though he held a degree of suspicion as his mother then quickly brushed off the front of his gakuran, giving his shoulders a quick swipe as well. Slowly, he lifted his head to look at her, his blue eyes not quite making direct contact with her own as she stood up straight and placed her hands on her hips. "You could at least keep yourself presentable."

Makaze looked down at her miniscule son, finally making eye contact with him, their blue eyes seemingly caught in a mental battle. Kale's eyes glazed over, causing him to tear himself away from the stare-down, leaving Makaze with nothing more to see but a wave of dark purple hair. He took a moment to gather himself before speaking. "Someone like me doesn't need to watch over their apperance..."

"Oh my, someone's arrogant," Makaze scoffed, smiling from amusement. She folded her arms across her chest, watching him carefully like the hunter she was...

"Mm... Arrogance? No..." Kale responded, maintaining his depressed and almost monotonous tone. He lifted his head, turning to face his mother yet again, giving her a close-eyed grin to hide the pain as he finished his sentence. "Because of my hair I look odd in the gakuran no matter what, so the number of buttons doesn't matter."

"You just... Augh..." Makaze sighed, holding her head in her hand as a wave of frustration flowed through her. Where was her wonderfully arrogant son who bragged about his shota qualities and how it was impossible for women to find him anything less than adorable? Who was this kid sitting before her who hid behind a fake smile as he talked about looking odd? She had never gotten very close to Kale in the years past puberty, but she knew that there were two things he believed in and trusted in no matter what; His friendship with the Izumi girl and his appearance. The only logical explanation, even to someone as inconsiderate as her, was that he was depressed over something...

Kale shifted in his seat uncomfortably, slouching his back slightly as if he were trying to curl up and escape frm Makaze's gaze. "Tell me... about dad," He said, some life escaping into his words and breaking the monotony of his speech as he did. His eyes slowly opened, the depressed, near-tearful glaze now gone, replaced with a hopefull glimmer.

Makaze looked at her son, watching him for a moment before letting out a sign, moving her hands to her hips. "This all of a sudden? Well, as much as I'd love to satiate your curiosity, you have to get going to school. You're already late!"

The glimmer in Kale's eye disappeared, now replaced with a tinge of desperation. "But-!"

"No 'but's, you have to get going. I won't have my son cutting classes," Makaze cut him off, speaking in a commanding tone. She grabbed the back of Kale's chair, pulling it out a few inches to give him enough room to stand up. Kale groaned, lifting himself off the chair and onto his feet, feeling defeated. He turned to his mother, ready to offer another moment of resistance, though he paused when he saw the stern look on her face. She looked down at him, holding back a sigh. "Don't worry, I promise."

"Makaze's promises often don't mean much, hm," Kale muttered to himself, sounding rather hurt. Truthfully, he felt somewhat betrayed, although he should have expected as much from her. He slowly made his way across the kitchen, heading for the door. Next to the door rested his school bag, which he absent-mindedly grabbed as he began to open the door. He closed the door behind him as he entered the small room, taking a moment to compose himself before opening the main door to the house and leaving.

_I'm already late, I doubt Konata waited for me..._ He thought to himself as he walked down the winding stone concrete path leading from his front door to the sidewalk. His mind was near-blank, refusing to process anything more than was required to make it to school. Makaze had never had this profound of an effect on him, and he couldn't figure out why she was now. _Nngh, it's just too annoying..._

"You're not usually _this_ late, Kale. What happened, sleep in?" Kale's ear perked up at the sound of Konata's voice, a small smile forming on his lips as Konata's soft, warm hand slid into his, her fingers sliding between his. She gave his hand a gentle squeeze as she smiled at him, which served to lift his spirits somewhat.

"Mm? I suppose not..." Kale gave Konata a weak smile, trying to mask his trouble. However, he did feel better now that she was around. Knowing someone cares about you is a great thing, and coupled with Konata's apparent natural ability to cheer Kale up it wasn't surprising that her simple act of kindness had made Kale feel much better. He leaned against her gently as they walked, though a thought quickly came to him. "Ah! Good morning, Konata."

"Good morning," Konata cheerily replied. She smiled at Kale for a moment, seeming a bit hyped up over something, though her smile quickly faded away, replaced by a look of worry. "Hey, what's wrong?"

"Mm? Oh..." Kale sighed, absentmindedly motioning in the direction of his house with his free hand. "Makaze's home..."

* * *

"So you were both late. How surprising," Kuroi spoke sarcastically as she tapped her pen against the clipboard holding the attendance sheet. She drew her eyes up from the listing for 'Izumi, Konata' and past 'Kazehana, Kale' to glance at them, her eyes both dull with a tinge of curiousity, though the annoyed, authorative tone resonated throughout her being. "So, what's the story?"

"I was late because of Kale. Short little guy like him, you can never be too certain with the way people are these days," Konata grinned, shooting an enthusiastic look to Kale, who couldn't help but chuckle at her comment. In a way, she had a point; There were a lot of people like that out there, though weren't the ones they targeted always someone you don't know?

Kuroi sighed, her eyes resting on the unnoticeably taller of the two. "Looks like you're the scapegoat, then. What's your excuse?"

"Makaze-san didn't judge the travel time to school correctly and kicked me out later than I usually leave," Kale stated, though even as he spoke he knew the excuse was weak...

* * *

"Oi... You're unusually down today, Kale. I'd think that with Konata by your side you'd be a lot happier," Kagami stated the painfully obvious as she watched her two short friends eat in silence. She blinked in surprise as Kale's eyes glanced up from the expensive looking meal he had probably bought on the way to school, though the look he gave her made her question whether he really saw her or not.

"Kale's world was invaded by his mother, so he's a bit out of it right now," Konata explained, though not in her typically cheery voice; She was genuinly worried about him, after all. Though, her inquisitive nature kicked in after speaking. "Isn't that common in anime and manga? Once a couple defeats all the obstacles and get together, new obstacles show up to challenge them. Is this all she's going to do, Kale, or should I expect to be kidnapped?"

"Oi, nobody would try. I have more than enough money to adequately protect my Mijikai-chan," Kale responded, his mood seemingly uplifted -- Though, the melancholy aura sorrounding him remained, albeit slightly weakened.

"Jeez, is this woman really that bad?" Kagami asked with a groan, slightly annoyed by their antics and Kale's new mood. It had to be an act. The goofy, happy-go-lucky boy she knew couldn't be the same boy as the emotionally strained one before her now...

"Ka-chaan's pigtails would be ripped out and used as whips on her if she annoyed Makaze, hm," Kale responded, his tone carrying across just how serious he was. A tiny grin formed as he glanced at the tsundere. "Which would be hot, if it weren't _my_ mother doing it."

"I see your mood hasn't affected your lip!" Kagami hissed, glaring at the perverted boy. This sounded more like the Kale she knew, though it was interesting to hear he wasn't into incest...

Konata grinned, turning to Kale. She knew random otaku fetishes always upped his mood, so it was worth a shot. "Oh? Whipping? Don't tell me Kale-kun has a thing for dominatrix-esque women."

Kale turned his head to face the mischevious girl, tilting it slightly in confusion. "Eh? Don't get any ideas. I'd rather see my Konata in a bunny outfit, hehe..."

"So it seems being a pervert is more important than being depressed," Kagami muttered to herself, a bit surprised at how active the boy seemed to be despite his depression. She sighed, looking away as a blush formed on her cheeks, a part of her wishing his perversion was directed to her and not Konata, though she quickly suppressed such thoughts--It's not a best friend's place to think that way, after all... Right?

"Bunny outfit, eh?" Konata grinned, a mental image flooding her mind; Her short body encased in a skin-tight, black one-piece outfit with little detail aside from the tiny mounds from her underdeveloped chest and a puffy white ball of fuzz right above her butt, with silky black stockings covering her fine legs, and long black ears attached to a headband hidden amidst her wavey blue hair. She looked to Kale, her eyes holding an amused tinkle. "Kale has great taste..."

Kagami sighed. "I'll never understand you two..."

* * *

Kale let out a sigh as his body slowly sunk into Konata's soft bed, arms laying out to his side, legs slightly parted. This bed was perfect; Just soft enough for you to get lost in, yet firm enough to support you when you decided to sleep. The gentle hint of Konata's scent that had overtaken the entire area only added to the comfort, at least for him. He threw his head onto the pillow, taking a deep breath.

The best part? Makaze wasn't here...

He stared at the dull yellow ceiling, his mind a blank slate. Thinking wasn't what he wanted to do right now; Not because he was depressed, but because he wanted to relax his mind. He disregarded the shifting weight on the bed, though he opened his eyes slightly upon feeling two hands pinning his wrists to the bed. Konata's grinning face came into view, hovering just inches from his face, her blue hair hanging down and mixing with his much darker, purple hair.

A smile found itself on his face. Even if he wanted to, he wouldn't dare turn Konata down, even considering his shattered mindset--Afterall, it wouldn't be fair to her, would it? He gave an unmotivated attempt to break free, not surprised when she held firm, locking his blue eyes with her own emerald eyes. "Looks like Konata's on top again, mm."

"I've noticed you let me on top a lot. Too lazy to take the initiative?" Konata teased, sitting her waist down on him to take the weight off her legs as she held him in place, her grin widening. "I thought you'd be all over me all the time."

"Hehe, Konata's quite perverted. Want to be under me that bad, mmm? I've just been drained lately, but don't worry your pretty little perverted head over it, I'll be on top of you once I kick Makaze out," Kale responded, his perverted grin returning for the first time in a while. It was fun, being alone with Konata. She was always so upbeat and close, she perfectly countered his generally lazy and easygoing personality. She wasn't without her flaws, but who likes to hover over the flaws of their girlfriends anyway?

"Aww, why can't we do anything here? You want all of our makeout memories at your house, don't you?" Konata questioned. It was one coming for quite some time; Kale didn't seem too comfortable even holding hands around her house, and he showed some resistance when Yutaka was around...

"Mm? Oh... Well... You know, your dad can be quite..." Kale grinned a nervous grin, a small blush forming on his cheeks. His eyes wandered away, as he didn't want to look at her in the eye as he admitted weakness. "Your dad can be scary, and he's defensive of you, so..."

"But he's pretty fond of you, I don't think there'd be any problems," Konata pointed out. Her dad could be a gentle man, especially towards Kale, though she could understand a boy being scared of her on-and-off overprotective father. Especially Kale, who was easily intimidated, despite how close he was to strong people like his mother and Takeshi...


End file.
